;:

o
CO
o
o
 LIBRARY
OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

Class
GRFAT SEALS Ctf K1KG RICHARD THE FIRST.
 ANCIENT ARMOUR
AND

WEAPONS IN EUROPE
FEOM THE

IRON PERIOD OF THE NORTHERN NATIONS TO THE END

OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY:

WITH

ILLUSTRATIONS FROM COTEMPORARY MONUMENTS.

BY JOHN HEWITT,
MEMBEB OF THE AECH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BEITAIN.

OXFORD AND LONDON:

JOHN HENRY AND JAMES PARKER.
M DCCC LV.
PRINTED BY MESSRS. PARKEB, CORN-MARKET, OXFORD.
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.

1.
(Frontispiece.} Great Seals of King Eichard Coeur-de-Lion.
The first of these (with the rounded helmet) has been drawn
from impressions appended to Harleian Charters, 43, C. 27 ;

43, C. 29 and 43, C. 30 and Carlton Ride Seals, i. 19. In

; ;

this, as in other cases, more seals have been examined, but it

seems unnecessary supply references to any but the best

to'

examples. The king wears the hauberk of chain-mail with

continuous coif, over a tunic of unusual length. The
chausses are also of chain-mail, and there is an appearance
of a chausson at the knee, but the prominence of the seal at
this part has caused so much obliteration, that the existence

of this garment may be doubted. The helmet is rounded at

the top, and appears to be strengthened by bands passing
round the brow and over the crown. The shield is bowed,
and the portion in sight ensigned with a Lion it is armed :

with a spike in front, and suspended over the shoulders by

the usual guige. Other points of this figure will be noticed
at a later page.

Second Great Seal of Eichard I. Drawn from impressions

in the British Museum : Harl. Charter, 43, C. 31, and Select

Seals, XYI. 1 ;
and Carlton Eide Seals, H. 17. The armour,
though differently expressed from that of the first seal, is

probably intended to represent the same fabric ; namely, in-

terlinked chain-mail. The tunic is still of a length which
seems curiously ill-adapted to the adroit movements of a
nimble warrior. The shield of the monarch is one of the
most striking monuments of the Herald's art the vague :

ornament of Eichard' s earlier shield has given place to the

Three Lions Passant Gardant so familiar to us all in the
b

216236
IV DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page

royal arms of the present day. The king wears the plain
goad spur, and is armed with the great double-edged sword,
characteristic of the period. The helmet is described at
page 141. The saddle is an excellent example of the "War-
saddle of this date.

VIGNETTE. Knightly monument combined with an Altar-drain,

in the Church of Long Wittenham, Berkshire of the close :

of the thirteenth century. The whole is of small propor-

2.
quarter .......
tions, the statue of the knight not exceeding two feet and a

SPEAR-HEADS or IRON. From the Faussett collec-

xxv .

Fig. 1.
tion found in the parish of Ash, near Sandwich length,
: :

18 inches. Figs. 2 and 3. In Mr. Rolfe's collection at

Sandwich, found in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Ozingell,
near Ramsgate. Fig. 4. In the Faussett collection, found
at Ash, near Sandwich. Figs. 5, 6 and 7. From Ozingell :

No. 6 has the bronze which bound the spear-head to

ferule
the shaft. Fig. 8. From Mr. Wylie's collection found in :

the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Fairford, Gloucestershire. Figs.

9 to 12. From the Faussett collection fig. 11 was found on
:

Kingston Down, Kent ;

the others at Ash-by- Sandwich :

fig. 10 is two feet long . . . . .22

3. SPEAR-HEADS or IRON. Fig. 13. In the British Museum :

found in an Anglo-Saxon grave at Battle Edge, Oxfordshire.

Fig. 14. Found in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Fairford,

Figs. 15 and 16. Found near Bredon Hill, Worcestershire,
aud preserved in the Museum of the Worcestershire Society
of Natural History. Fig. 17. Barbed spear, or Angon, found
in a grave on Sibertswold Down, Kent eleven inches long.:

In the Faussett collection. Fig. 18. Four-sided spear-head,

found by Mr. Wylie, in the " Fairford Graves
:" length,
16| inches. Figs. 19, 20, 21. Found in Ireland: from Mr.
Wakeman's paper in the third volume of the Collectanea
Antiqua. Fig. 22. A Livonian example, from Dr. Bahr's
collection. The original is in the British Museum. Fig.
23. A barbed spear, found in a tumulus in Norway : from
Mr. Wylie's paper in the thirty-fifth vol. of the Archaologia .
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. V
Page
4. SWORDS. Fig. 1. Pound in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at
Pairford. It measures upwards of 2 ft. 11 inches, and is one

of the finest examples extant. Fig. 2. In the Hon. Mr.

Neville's collection found in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at
:

Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire. Length of Hade, 2 ft. 7 in.

It retains the bronze mountings of the sheath, which have

been gilt. Tig. 3. Same collection and find : a specimen re-
markable for the cross-piece at the hilt. Fig. 4. Ancient-
Irish Sword of the same period length, 30 inches. From :

Mr. Wakeman's paper in vol. iii. of Collectanea Antigua.

Fig. 5. Danish sword with engraved runes in the Copen- :

hagen Museum. Fig. 6. Danish from the Annaler for :

Nor disk Oldkyndighed. Remarkable for the form of its

cross-piece . . . . . . .32
5. SWORDS. Fig. 7. Norwegian Sword. The pommel and cross-

piece are of iron. Figs. 8 to 11. From Livonian graves the :

originals are in the British Museum. Fig. 10 is single-edged :

its pommel and the chape of the scabbard are of bronze.

Fig. 11 has its pommel and guard ornamented with silver . 33

6. Bronze Sheath containing the remains of an iron Sword:

found near Flashy, in the West Eiding of Yorkshire: ex-
hibited in the temporary Museum at York, formed by the
Archa?ological Institute in 1846 . . . .44
7. AXE-HEADS or IRON. Figs. 1 and 2. From the Anglo-Saxon

cemetery at Ozingell : now in Mr. Bolfe's Museum. Figs.

3. and Ancient-Irish examples
4. from Mr. "Wakeman's :

paper in the Collectanea Antigua. Figs. 5 and 6. German

specimens from the
:
cemetery at Selzen, in Rhenish Hesse ;
described by the brothers Lindenschmit. Figs. 7 to 10. From
Livonian graves explored by Dr. Bahr : all four are in the
British Museum . . . . . .46
8. Anglo-Saxon figures contending with the war-knife and barbed
spear: from a Latin and Anglo-Saxon Psalter, formerly be-
longing to the Due de Berri, in the Imperial Library at
Paris . . . . . . .51
b2
VI DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page
9. ATAU-KNIVES. Fig. 1. From the Ozingell cemetery :
pommel
and cross-piece of iron :
length, 16 inches. Fig. 2. From
the Faussett collection : found at Ash, near Sandwich. Figs.
3 and 4. Ancient-Irish from Mr. Wakeman's paper. Fig. 3.
:

is 6 inches long
1 : the other, of which the blade is broken,
is remarkable for retaining its handle, which is of carved
wood. Fig. 5 is from the Selzen cemetery, and curious from
the ring at the end of the tang. Length, 2 feet . . 52

10. ARROW-HEADS. Figs. 1 and 2. From the Faussett collec-

tion the first, 3 inches in length, was found in the parish of
:

Ash -by-Sandwich, the second on Kingston Down: both have

tangs. Figs. 3 and 4. Arrow-heads with sockets found on :

Chatham Lines. From Douglas's " Nenia." Figs. 5 and 6.

From the German graves at Selzen. Figs. 7 and 8. From
Livonian tombs they are now in the British Museum
: . 56

11. Sprinkle or Hand-flail of bronze : from the Museum of

Mitau in Courland. Given in Dr. Bahr's work, Die Graber

'
der Liven . . . . . . .58

12. Anglo-Saxon Slinger from an Anglo-Saxon Psalter of the

:

tenth or eleventh century at Boulogne. The figure is that

of David . . .. . . .59

13. Group from Cottonian MS., Claudius, B. iv., folio 24 :

^Ifric's Anglo-Saxon Paraphrase of the Pentateuch, &c.

Date about 1000. The crowned figure in the centre appears
to be armed in a coat t>f chain-mail . . . .60

14. Figure of an Anglo-Saxon warrior, from Cotton MS., Cleo-

patra, C. viii. ;
a copy of the Psycliomacliia of Prudentius.

Date, early in the eleventh century. The body-armour ap-

pears to be of hide, with the fur turned outwards. The
characteristic leg-bands of the Anglo-Saxons are carefully
expressed . . . . . . .64

15. Anglo-Saxon spearmen, from the fine manuscript of Pruden-

tius in the Tenison Library. Date, the beginning of the
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. vii
Page
eleventh century. The drawings are in pen-and-ink only,
but very carefully executed the later subjects by a fresh
:

hand, but all Anglo-Saxon work .65 . . .

16. Another group from Cotton MS., Claudius, B. iv. This .

volume contains a great number of drawings, many of which

illustrate the subject on which we are engaged . .66

17. Figure of Goliath, from a Latin Psalter of the tenth century

in the British Museum: Additional MS., No. 18,043. The
hauberk coloured blue in the original, apparently indi-
is

cating chain-mail. The curious combed helmet is of the

same hue, clearly implying a defence of iron . . 67

18. Supposed frame-Helmet of the Anglo-Saxon period. It is of

bronze, and was found upon the skull of an entombed warrior

discovered at Leckhampton Hill, near Cheltenham, in 1844 . 69

19. BOSSES or SHIELDS: OE IRON. Fig. 1. Anglo-Saxon: from

the Faussett collection : found on Chartham Downs, near

Canterbury. Figs. 2 and 3. From the Anglo-Saxon ceme-

tery at Fairford. The last measures nearly five inches across.

The rest on this plate are to the same scale. Figs. 4 and 6.
In Mr. Rolfe's collection : from the Ozingell cemetery. Fig.
5. Anglo-Saxon : found at Streetway Hill, Wilbraham, Carn-
Dridgeshire : now in the British Museum . . .73

20. BOSSES OF SHIELDS. From the Anglo-Saxon ceme-

Fig. 7.

tery at Ozingell. Fig. From the Faussett collection:

8.

found at Chartham Downs. Fig. 9. Found at Rodmead

Down, Wilts. From Sir Eichard Hoare's " Ancient Wilts."

Fig. 10. From the Wilbraham cemetery. This specimen is

especially valuablefrom its retaining the handle still fixed by

the edge of the boss. Fig. 1 1 Scottish example
its rivets to . :

found in a grave in the county of Moray. From Dr. Wilson's

"Archaeology of Scotland." Fig. 12. German : from the

cemetery at Selzen. Fig. 13. A Danish example: from the

Copenhagen Museum. All these are of iron . . 75
viii DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page
21. From the same MS. as No. 14 (Cleop. C. viii.). The figure
is one of a group, all similarly equipped, and carrying their
shields at their back . ..77
22. Snaffle-bit, of iron, from an Anglo-Saxon barrow in Bourne
Park, near Canterbury. In the collection of the Earl of
Londesborough . . . . . .80
23. Spur with lozenge goad from the bronze monument of
:

Rudolph von Schwaben, A.D. 1080, in the Cathedral of Merse-

burg. From Hefner's TracJiten . . . .81
24. Figure from folio 30 of Harleian MS. 603, a Latin Psalter of
the close of the eleventh century. See p. 2.9 for its descrip-
tion. This subject, an illustration of Mr. Akerman's paper
in vol. xxxiv. of the Archceologia, " On some of the Weapons
of the Celtic and Teutonic Races," has been kindly lent by
the author of that essay .. . . .90
25. Great Seal of King William the Conqueror: from the fine

impression appended to a charter preserved at the Hotel

Soubise in Paris. The charter is a grant to the Abbey of
St. Denis of land at Teynton, in England. The king wears
the hauberk of chain-mail over a tunic. The hemispherical
helmet is surmounted by a small knob, and has laces to fasten

it under the chin. The legs do not appear to have any

armour the spur has disappeared.
: A
lance with streamer
and a large kite-shield complete the warrior's equipment.
The legend is ^ Hoc NORMANNORUM WILLELMTJM NOSCE
PATRONTJM SI(GNO). . . . . . .92
26. Great Seal of King William II., 10871100. From an im-
pression preserved at Durham. The hauberk appears to be
of chain-mail, though expressed in a somewhat different
manner from the preceding seal of William the Conqueror,
and from others which will follow. The conical helmet seems
to have had a nasal. The spur is of the goad form. If the
leg has had armour, the marks of it have been obliterated by
the softening of the wax. The king is armed with lance,
sword, and kite-shield . 102
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. IX
Page
27. Seal of Alexander I., king of Scotland: 11071124. The
figure is armed in hauberk with continuous coif, apparently
of chain-mail ;
worn over a tunic or gambeson, seen at the

wrist and skirt. Conical nasal helmet, lance with streamer,

kite-shield, and goad-spur, are the other items of the equip-
ment. The leg does not shew any armour, though the soften-

ing of the wax may have obliterated markings which originally

indicated a defensive provision at this part. The ornaments
of the poitrail are usual at this period . . . 107

28. Great Seal of King Henry I., circa 11 00. From Cotton Charter,
2 (in British Museum). The instrument is a confirmation
ii.

Newton by " Eadulfus

of the gift of filius Godrici," and is

witnessed by Queen Matilda and others. See Tanner' aNotitia,

p. 339, Norwich. The material of the hauberk is represented

by that honeycomb-work so often observed in seals of this
period, and which appears to be one of the many modes in use
to imitate the web of interlinked chain-mail. The leg does
not shew any markings as of armour, but these may have

disappeared from the softening of the wax, and the promi-

nence of the seal at this part. The helmet is a plain conical
cap of steel, without nasal
the spur a simple goad.
: The
lance-flag terminating in three points, is ensigned with a
Cross. The shield is of the kite-form, shewing the rivets by
which the wood and leather portions of it were held together.
The peytrel of the horse has the usual pendent ornaments of
the time . . . . . . . 1 10

29. The various modes of expressing the armour in the Bayeux

Tapestry . . . . . . .121

30. Great Seal of King Stephen. Drawn from an impression

among the Select Seals in the British Museum, and from
that appended to Harleian Charter, 43, C. 13. The helmet
seems to have had a nasal, but the seals at this part are so
imperfect that it cannot be clearly traced. Behind is seen
a portion of the lace which fastened the coif or the casque.
The [body-armour is noticed at page 122. Compare wood-
cut, No. 42 . . 122
X DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.

31. Various
ments .......
modes of representing chain-mail on medieval monu-
Page

124

32. From Harleian Roll, Y. 6. The Life of Saint Guthlac.

Date, about the close of the twelfth century. The figures

wear the tunic, hauberk of chain-mail, and square-topped
helmets, of which one only has the nasal. The triangular
shields are suspended round the neck by the guige : their

ornaments are mere fanciful patterns, not heraldic. No

armour appears to be provided for the lower part of the

figures. This Roll is further curious from having, at the

back of it, drawings of about a century later date . . 127

33. From Harleian MS. 603 : a Latin Psalter of the close of

the eleventh century. The figure is a pen-drawing, and re-

presents Compare the crowned figure in wood-

Goliath.
cut 13, from Cotton MS., Claudius, B. iv., and the warriors
in the Bayeux Tapestry. The hauberk appears to be of
chain-mail.
costume and of weapons .....
This manuscript has many drawings of military
129

34. From Cotton MS., Nero, C. iv. French art. Date, about
1125. The figure is one of a group representing the Mas-
sacre of the Innocents : a subject, with those of the Conflict
of David and Goliath, the Soldiers at the Holy Sepulchre,
and the Martyrdom of Thomas a Becket, very fertile in
illustrations of ancient military equipment : . . 130

35. From fragment of a vellum-painting, of the close of the

eleventh century, figured in Hefner's Trachten. The body-
armour appears to be of scale-work, and is silvered in the
original.
loured red .......
The chausses of the figures in the rear are co-
132

36. Another figure from Harl. MS. 603.

(See description of
woodcut, No. 33.) The costume is described at page 133.
This is the only instance in the book, which contains some
hundreds of figures, where the dress of scale-work appears . 133
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. XI
Page
37. David and Goliath : from an initial letter of a Latin Bible
written in Germany, for the use of the Premonstratensian

Monastery of S. Maria de Parco, near Louvain. Additional

MS. 14,789, fol. 10. This MS. has a particular value from
its being dated; it was written in 1148. See the rubric on
fol. 197 of vol. i., and the Colophon. The costumes are de-
scribed at page 134 . . . . . .135

38. Figure of Goliath from a Latin Bible written about 1 1 70.

:

"
Hie liber pertinet ad Ecclesiam Beatse Marise Yirginis in
Suburbio Wormatiensis." Harl. MS. 2,803. Goliath is

armed in the nasal helmet and hauberk of chain-mail. The

chausses are of an unusual pattern, and do not appear to be
of a defensive character . . . . .136

39. Sculpture of St. George, from the tympanum of a door in

the church of Ruardean, Gloucestershire. Date, the first

half of the twelfth century. The body-armour of the knight

is not now indicated, but may have been formerly expressed
by painting. The helmet is of the well-known Phrygian
form. A
mantle streaming in many folds behind the cham-
pion shews the impetuosity of his attack. brooch secures A
the mantle in front. The heel is furnished with a goad spur 137

40. Group representing Abraham receiving bread and wine from

Melchisedech an enamel of the close of the twelfth cen-
:

tury, preserved in the Louvre collection. The patriarch

wears the hauberk of chain-mail over a tunic ; the coif of the
hauberk being surmounted by a conical nasal helmet. Over
the armour is worn a cloak, fastening at the right shoulder.
"We borrow this illustration from Mr. Way's excellent
paper
on the Enamels of the Middle-ages, in the second volume of
"
the " Archaeological Journal . . . .138

41. Seal of Conan, duke of Britanny and earl of Richmond :

1165-71. From Harleian Charter, 48, G. 40. See Nicholas'

"
Synopsis of the Peerage," vol. ii. p. 534, for the history of
this duke. He wears the hauberk with continuous coif sur-
mounted by the conical steel casque. The triangular shield
Xll DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.

......
Page
is of large proportions. The saddle-cloth is of an unusual
fashion . 140

42. Great Seal of King Stephen. The armour consists of

hauberk with continuous surmounted by a helmet of
coif,

Phrygian form. Behind the head are seen the ties which
fastened the coif or the casque. The bowed kite-shield is

curious from the spiked projection in front. Compare wood-

cut, No. 30 . . . . . . . 144

43. Great Seal of King Henry II. The body-armour, consisting

of hauberk and chausses, appears to be of chain-mail. The
helmet has a nasal, and the kite-shield, seen in the inside,
shews very distinctly the manner of fixing the straps forming
the enarme and the guige . . .151 . .

44. Another Great Seal of King Henry II. Drawn from im-
pressions attached to Cotton Charter, ii. 5 ;
and Harl. Char-
ters, 43, C. 20 ; 43, C. 22 ;
and 43, C. 25. This seal is

chiefly remarkable from the capacious and highly enriched

saddle-cloth. The body-armour of the king appears to be of
the usual chain-mail.

already seen in previous

The
monuments ....
conical nasal helmet has been
170

45. The Keep of Porchester Castle, Hampshire. Built about

1150. It exhibits the type of a Norman stronghold : win-
dows small below, but larger in the higher stories walls of ;

great thickness near the base, and of reduced proportions

above. An on Military Architecture in the
excellent essay
firstvolume of the "Archaeological Journal" will afford a
good insight into the arrangements of a castle of the Norman
period. See also the Architecture Militaire du Moyen-Age, by
M. Viollet-le-Duc. The Winchester Volume of the Archae-
ological Institute will supply a particular description of Por-
chester Castle . . . . . .189

46. Knightly from Haseley Church, Oxfordshire. The

effigy

sculpture appears to be of the middle of the thirteenth cen-

tury, and aifords an excellent type of the military costume of
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. Xlll

Page
this age. The knight wears the hauberk of chain-mail over
a gambeson (seen at the skirt), with chausses of chain-mail.
The sleeveless surcoat is girt at the waist by a narrow belt,
from which the sword-carriage is suspended. To equip the
warrior for battle, would still be wanting the helm of plate
to fix over his mail-coif. His shield a very unusual ar-

rangement placed under his head, in lieu of the second

is

pillow generally found in knightly monuments 192 . .

47. Mounted Archer, from Roy. MS. 20, D. i. fol. 127: Histoire
Universelle, and other tracts. French art. The drawings
are all coloured, and in great number. It is one of the
finest manuscripts in the world for the illustration of an-
cient armour and military usages of all kinds. See note on

page 196 . . . . .195

48. Group of bowmen from folio 307 of the same MS. The
fighters in both examples wear the hauberk of banded-mail
with surcoat, and the " sugar-loaf" helm. The mounted
figure is distinguished by having chausses also of banded-
mail. The helm at his feet shews the laces by which it was
fastened . . . . . . . 199

49. Cross-bowman and Archer from Add. MS. 15,268, fol. 101 :

Histoire de V ancien monde. Date, about the close of the

thirteenth century. The armour of the arbalester is pro-
bably meant for chain-mail: that of the archer is very vague,
but seems to express some kind of pourpointing. The artist
has carefully distinguished the barbed head of the arrow and
the pile of the crossbow-bolt . . . .201

50. Group of soldiers from Harl. MS. 4,751, fol. 8: a Latin

Bestiarium of the commencement of the thirteenth century.
The variety of weapons in this little subject is very remark-
able they will be noticed under their separate heads. The
:

"castle" on the elephant's back is, in the original, full of

fighters, all wearing the flat-topped helm, and having their

shields fixed in a row in front of the car, as we see them
hanging over the edge of a vessel in sea-pictures. The
"pick-pointed hammer" in the hand of the swordsman is
XIV DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page
rather an engineering tool than a weapon, and in other

ing a wall .......

manuscripts is given to those who are employed in breach-

armed with the and

205

51. Group of soldiers staff-sling, axe, spear,

bow with lime-phial : from Strutt's Horda, vol. i. Plate xxxi.
"
His authority is the MS. of the
History" of Matthew Paris
in Benet College Library, Cambridge C. 5, xvi. It has been :

suggested, but with no great probability, that the manuscript

in question is the work of Matthew Paris himself . . 206

52. Great Seal of King John : drawn from impressions attached

to Harl. Charter, 84, C. 7, and Cotton Charter, viii. 25 ;

and Carlton Hide Seal, H. 18. The helmet in this figure

isof unusual form and here, for the first time, the military
;

surcoat appears in a royal seal of England. The mailing

has been obliterated at the skirt of the hauberk, from the

prominence of the seal at that part. The ornamental

"peytrel" of the horse is well defined in this monument,
and the fashion of the saddle is very distinctly seen 228 . .

53. The three knights, from a picture of the Martyrdom of

Thomas a Becket, in Harl. MS. 5,102, fol. 32. The volume
is a Latin Psalter, written in the beginning of the thirteenth

century, and containing many illuminations. Fitzurse is

conspicuous from the figure of the Bear on his shield. The

heads of the knights present a curious variety of arming :

one wearing the flat-topped helmet, another the rounded

casque, and the third having no further defence than his
coif of mail. The tunic is seen passing beyond the edge
of the hauberk.
loured red ....... The legs of the foremost figures are co-
230

54. Sculptured effigy of William Longespee, earl of Salisbury,

from his monument in Salisbury Cathedral. His death and
burial (in 1226) are recorded in the curious cotemporary

manuscript of "William de AVanda, the dean which is still ;

preserved in the Bishop's E/ecords at Sarum. See Dods-

worth's History of the Cathedral, pp. 121 and 201. The
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. XV
Page
statue more fully illustrates various points of tlie knightly

equipment at this early period than any other that could

be named. These details will be separately noticed in their

particular places. The figure still retains much of its an-

cient painting. The chain-mail is of a brown hue, a sin-
gularity not hitherto satisfactorily explained. The spurs
have yet sparkles of gold. The Lions on the shield are in
relief; gold on a blue field. This device has been repeated,

by painting, on the surcoat. The statue, which is of free-

stone, has every appearance of having been sculptured at the

time of the death of Earl William ; and, as it is so clearly
identifiedby the carved device of the shield, becomes one of
the most valuable examples for archaBological reference 232 .

55. Monumental Brass of " Sire Johan D' Aubernoun, Chivaler,"

in the church of Stoke D'Abernon, Surrey. This is the
most ancient sepulchral brass yet observed, whether in Eng-
land or on the continent: its date, about 1277. Till lately

it was partly hidden beneath the altar-rails, but is now fully

disclosed. On the shield, the tincture of the field (blue) is

represented by enamel the copper lining being plainly dis-

;

cernible in the narrow edge that borders the colour. The

heraldic bearing is repeated on the lance-flag and on the

escutcheon above the effigy. The armour of the knight will

56.
in detail .......
be described as the various parts of

From Willemin's Monumens Inedits, vol. i., Plate en.

it come to be examined
237

The original is a drawing in the Album of Wilars de Hon-

necort, an artist of the thirteenth century. The chain- mail
chausses of the knight are drawn together behind the leg
and under the foot by lacing. The coif of the hauberk
thrown back on the shoulders, discloses the under-coif, worn
by the men-at-arms to protect the head from the rough con-
tact of the iron garment. The figure is further curious from
the " cotte a mancherons dechiquetes." . . . 238

57. Chess-knight of ivory, preserved in the Ashmolean Museum :

seen in two views. The knight wears the hauberk of chain-

XVI DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page
mail, and the cylindrical helm of its earliest form. The
gamboised chausson is seen overlying the mail chausses.
The triangular bowed shield is very exactly represented, and
the draping of the surcoat has more freedom than is usually
found at this early period. The date appears to be the be-
ginning of the thirteenth century .... 243

58. From a marble bas-relief in a cloister of the Annunziata

Convent at Florence, 1289. After a drawing in the Kerrich
Collection, Add. MSS., No. 6,728. The knight, Gulielmus
Balnis, among several singularities of equipment, presents
us with a very unusual pattern of leg-armour the whole :

suit will be duly examined at a future page. The composi-

tion conveys no very exalted idea of Italian art in 1289 and, ;

in the drapery, the sculptor might well take a lesson from

the humble chess-piece carver of the days of Magna Charta,
whose handiwork was the subject of our last notice . 244 .

59. Knightly effigy, of free-stone, in the church of Ash, near

Sandwich. Date, the close of the thirteenth century. The
chain-mail has been expressed in stucco, and painted of a
red-brown colour. Traces of gilding are found on the

genouilleres and other parts of the monument. The knight

wears the quilted gambeson ; hauberk, hood, and chausses
of chain-mail ; genouilleres of plate or cuir-bouilli, and long
surcoat. Ailettes are at the shoulders : of the shield, little

is left but the strap that sustained the cord looped to

it :

the waist-belt held a dagger, now wanting the spurs, of a:

-

single goad, have been gilt . . ... . 247

60. A mounted knight clothed in banded-mail, and having ar-

moried ailettes. The shield is carried by allowing the en-
armes to slip over the wrist. A fortified bridge, with flank-
ing towers, "breteche," gates, and portcullis, is in face.
The miniature appears on fol 58 V0
collection of Eomances, dated 13 16
.

....
of Add. MS. 10,293: a
250

61. Mounted knight armed in banded-mail and visored bassinet,

and having ailettes of a lozenge form : from Roy. MS. 14 E. iii.
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. XVli
Page
fol. 94 V0 .
;
a volume of Romances, written and illuminated
in the first half of the fourteenth century. A fine book for
armour subjects the drawings clear, richly coloured and
:

gilt, and the details well

made out. This volume passed into

pears on the second folio .....

the possession of King Richard III., whose autograph ap-
250

62. Knightly figure of the close of the thirteenth century :

from Roy. MS. 2, A. xxii. fol. 219. The drawing shews

very clearly the manner in which the mail-coif was drawn

over the chin, and tied above the ear on the left side of the
head. An
opening at the palm permitted the knight to dis-
engage his hand from the hauberk at pleasure. The armour
of the legs consists of a chausson of chain-mail, and chausses

lacing behind, which appear to be formed of studs rivetted

on cloth or leather. The helm is of a more enriched cha-
racter than usually found at this period.
is Other minute

points of this

examination
equipment
.......
will be noticed in the order of their
254

63. Group of Soldiers, from a Latin Service-book of the end of

the thirteenth century: Add. MS. 17,687: German art:
the drawings richly coloured and gilt, large and wr ell detailed.
The armour fabrics in the subject before us are of three

kinds :
banded-mail, plain quilting, and pourpointerie with
studs. The diversity of arrangement of these defences in so
small a group of soldiers strikingly shews how little was

thought of a uniformity of costume. As in other cases, par-

the work .......

ticular points of equipment will be noticed in the body of

257

64. Effigy in free-stone of a knight of the De Sulney family, from

the church of Newton
Solney, Derbyshire. The manor was
held by this house under the Earls of Chester (see "Archaeo-

logical Journal," vol. vii. page 368), and the church contains
several early and interesting monumental statues of the suc-
cessive lords. The figure before us appears to be of the
close of the thirteenth century : it is armed in hauberk and
chausses of banded-mail : the sleeveless surcoat is slit up in
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page
front for convenience of riding the shield has been triangu-
:

lar, and is slightly bowed : the pommel of the sword is cinque-

cross-piece curved towards the blade the spurs are

foiled, its :

of a single goad. In lieu of the usual lion or dragon at the

feet, the statue is terminated by clusters of foliage of Early

English character ;
from which we may learn that the par-
ticular purpose of the carving beneath the feet of these old

sculptures was, not symbolic or heraldic decoration, but the

provision of a strong block of stonework, to prevent the
slender and prominent feet from being broken away by the
first act of carelessness . . . . .261

65. A portion of banded-mail from the above-named monument,

of the natural size. The lower figure gives the profile view 263 .

66. Group from the "Romance of King Meliadus," Add. MS.

12,228, fol. 79. This is a manuscript of the fourteenth cen-

tury (circa 1360) ;

used here to illustrate the subject of
banded-mail . . . . . . 264

67. Coif of banded-mail, from a MS. of the beginning of the

fourteenth century. The subject is given in full in No. 7
of Count Bastard's Peintures des Manuscrits, the original
monument being an illuminated Bible. Other figures from
this Bible shew the same mode of tightening the coif . 266

68. Soldiers armed in Banded-mail: from a volume illuminated

at Metz about 1280, and now preserved in -the public library
of that city. The figures here given have been engraved in
Hefner's TracTiten, Part i. Plate LXXYII.; from which ad-
mirable work we have transferred them to our pages. It

exactly alike .......

will be observed that no two of these warriors are equipped

268

69. Chess-piece (a Warder) of walrus-tusk, of the early part of

the thirteenth century. It was presented to the Society of

Antiquaries of Scotland by Lord Macdonald and exhibited ;

in the Museum formed at York on the visit of the Archa3-

"
ological Institute to that city in 1846. (See Archaeological
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. XIX
Page

Journal," vol. The armour appears to be chain-

iii.
p. 241.)

mail, rudely expressed by a series of lines and punctures.

The shields are remarkable from having a blunt termination

below, instead of the usual pointed form 269 . . .

70. Monumental statue of an unknown knight in Norton Church,

Durham from the figure by Blore and Le Keux in Surtees'
:

History of Durham, vol. iii. p. 155. Date, about 1300. The

hauberk has the hood (or coif?) thrown off the head and

lying on the shoulders: straps tighten it at the wrists.

Over the chausses appear the knee-pieces, which probably
terminated a chausson of gamboised work. The surcoat
differs from the earlier fashion of this garment, in having
sleeves. The sword is of an enriched character, the pommel
being ornamented with an escutcheon, which was no doubt
once ensigned with the bearings of the knight. Similar
escutcheons appear on the genouilleres. The hair, short over
the forehead, and gathered into large curls over the ears,
is characteristic of this period. The arming of the figure is

almost identical with that of Brian Fitz Alan, at Bedale,

Yorkshire (See Blore' s Monuments, and Hollis's Effigies,

Partiv.) . . . . . . .275

71. SERIES or HELMS or THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. Pig. 1.

From the effigy of Hugo Fitz Eudo, in Kirkstead Chapel,

Lincolnshire. A drawing of the whole figure will be found
in Powell's Collections in the British Museum : Add. MS.
17,462, fol. 71. Fig. 2. From a carving in an arcade of the

Presbytery, Worcester Cathedral. Fig. 3. From a sculpture

in the Cathedral of Constance the entire figure is given in
:

Hefner's Costumes, Part i. Plate iv. Fig. 4. From the

Seal of Hugo de Vere, fourth earl of Oxford: 1221-63
Fig. 5. From a knightly figure on folio 27 of Harleian MS.
32,44 : circa 1250. Fig. 6. From the Great Seal of Alexan-
der king of Scotland: 1214-49
II., : from an impression ap-
pended to Cotton Charter, xix. 2. Fig. 7. From Seal of
Robert Fitz Walter, Lord of Wodeham and Castellan of
London circa 1298. See page 334. Fig. 8. From a glass-
:

painting in Chartres Cathedral, representing Ferdinand, king

XX DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page
of Castille : circa 1250. Fig. 9. A helm of iron in the Tower
collection. Fig. 10. From a miniature on Cotton Roll, xv. 7.

Fig. 11. From

the Seal of Louis of Savoy: circa 1294. The
whole figure is given by Cibrario in the Sigilli de* Prin-
cipi di Savoia, Plate xxx. Fig. 12. An example of the so-
called Sugar-loaf helm : from Royal MS. 20. D. i.
Compare
that on the brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington, which is

somewhat more ornate (woodcut, No. 73) . . . 278

72. Combat of knights, from Roy. MS. 20, D. i. a volume ;

already used for our illustrations numbered 47 and 48. Both

figures are armed from head to foot in banded-mail, and have
the characteristic helm of the period of " sugar-loaf" form,
:

and brought so low as to rest on the shoulders. The warrior

on the left hand wears a crown over his helm, and has the
further decoration of a fan-crest of ungainly size. The
shields are of the old kite shape., but much reduced in their
dimensions from their Neustrian prototypes. The crowned
combatant has a dagger at his right side an early instance :

of an arrangement which afterwards became very common.

The caparison of the horses does not appear to be of a de-
fensive construction but an under-housing of gamboiserie
;

or chain-work may perhaps in such cases be implied 283 . .

73. Monumental brass of Sir Roger de Trumpington, executed

about 1290, and still
occupying its old position in the parish
church
"At Trompington, not fer fro Cantebrigge*."

The knight is armed in hauberk, chausses and hood of

chain-mail with a chausson, of which the knee-pieces seem
;

to be of iron plate. Ailettes are at the shoulders, and for

pillow the warrior has his helm from the lower edge of
;

which a chain passes to the belt of the surcoat, in order to

prevent its being lost in battle. The triangular, bowed
shield sustained by the usual guige and here, as well as
is ;

on the ailettes and the escutcheons of the sword-sheath, are

seen the Trumpets forming, in allusion to his name, the
heraldic bearings of our knight .... 285

Chaucer, Revo's Tale.

 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. XXI
Page
74. Incised slab to the memory of the knight, Johan le Botiler,
in the church of St. Bride's, Glamorganshire. Date, about
1300. As in the preceding example, the heraldic figures

(borne in this instance on the shield and cervelliere) are

allusive to the name of the bearer, Butler. The sword,
with its trefoil pommel and narrow, curved cross-piece, has
quite the character of the Anglo-Saxon weapon of the
eleventh century. In the rowel spur, however, we recognise
the spirit of progress and the cervelliere of plate, worn, as
;

here, in conjunction with the coif of chain-mail, is an early

example of that arrangement in a monumental effigy . 287

75. Figure of Goliath, from Add. MS. 11,639, fol. 520 : a He-
brew copy of the Pentateuch and Forms of Prayer, written
in Germany about the close of the thirteenth century. The
giant has hauberk and chausses of chain-mail, with knee-
pieces of plate, and the broad-rimmed chapel- de-fer. The
and strengthening bands which we
shield retains the boss

have seen in examples from the Anglo-Saxon and Prankish

graves. The round mark at the temple is the stone hurled

from the sling of David. . . . .
. 290

76. Part of a figure from the wall-pictures of the Painted Cham-

ber at Westminster to shew the form of the pointed,

.......
:

nasal helmet. Date, the second half of the thirteenth

century 291

77. Glass-painting in the window of the north transept of Ox-

ford Cathedral. The to it no
tracery formerly belonging
longer appears, and it is now mixed up with glass of a later

period. It is
scarcely necessary to say that the martyr's
"
head is a restoration." The knights are armed in suits of
banded-mail, with knee-pieces of plate. The uplifted sword
is of the falchion kind. Fitz-Urse has on his shield three
Bears' heads on a diapered field, in lieu of the usual figure
of a single Bear. Compare woodcut, No. 53. The date of
this glass appears to

century ....... be about the close of the thirteenth

78. Iron spur found in the churchyard of Chesterford, Cam-

296
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page

bridgeshire,and now preserved in the Museum of the Hon.

E. C. Neville, at Audley End. 9he plain goad, straight
neck, and curved shanks are

spur of the thirteenth century

all

....
characteristic of the knightly
298

79. Great Seal of King Henry III. ;

drawn from impressions
attached to Harleian Charter, 43, C. 38Wolley Charter, ;

5, xxi.and Topham Charter, No. 8. The king wears the

;

hauberk of chain-mail, with a helm somewhat rounded at

top, and having a moveable ventail with clefts for sight
and breathing. The mailing has been obliterated from the
chausses, if any ever were there. The surcoat is still of great

length. The bowed shield exhibits the usual three Lions.

But a novelty appears in the spurs of this figure, which

are rowelled. No earlier instance of the rowel spur has
been observed, and indeed it seldom appears again during
the whole century. Usually on the alert to adopt any
novelty of military equipment, the knights appear to have
rejected with particular obstinacy the innovation of the
wheeled spur, though to us appears so strongly recom-
it

mended by the greater humanity of its contrivance. Com-

pare woodcut, No. 81 the second
: Great Seal of Hen. III. 299 .

80. From Cotton MS., Nero, D. i. ;

the " Lives of the two

Offas," by Matthew Paris. This group, which occurs on

folio 7 of the manuscript, represents the Mercian king,
Offa I., combating in behalf of the king of Northumber-
land, and defeating the Scottish army. The drawings of this
all of which have been
curious volume, copied by Strutt in
his Horda, appear to be of the close of the thirteenth
century. The body-armour is for the most part banded-
mail. Offa has the distinction of greaves and knee-
King
pieces the
:
mailing of a portion of his coif differs from the
rest of the suits, probably from carelessness of the artist

only. The horse of the king is also discriminated from the

other steeds by having a housing. The head-defence, com-
posed of a mask of steel placed over the coif of banded-mail,

is very remarkable. In the adjoining figure we again see

an example of the aperture left at the palm, for the con-
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. XX111
Page

81.
venience of liberating the hand occasionally from
mail. Compare woodcut, No.

Second Great Seal of King Henry III. From impressions

62. .... its case of
303

Ride (R. i. 34), and select seals in Brit. Museum

at Carlton

(xxxiv. 4). The armour consists of hauberk and chausses of

chain-mail, helm with moveable visor, shield and sword.
The surcoat, of diminished length, is without heraldic de-
coration. As a work of art, this seal shews a great advance

beyond the previous royal seals the horse is drawn with :

much truth and spirit, while the figure of the king is just in
its proportions and natural in its position. Compare wood-
cut, No. 79. . . . . . . . 307

82. Group from the Painted Chamber. Vetusta Monumenta,

vol. vi. Plate XXXYI. "We have here many noticeable particu-
lars the falchion, the archer with his long-bow and cloth-
:

yard shaft, armed with its barbed head, the ornamented

helmet of the mounted knight, the conical nasal helmet of
the figure behind, the triangular and the round shields, and
the curiously-formed brow-band of the horse. All these will
be duly examined under their respective heads . . 313

83. Incised slab of red sandstone, the memorial of a knight of

the Brougham family, in the church of Brougham, West-
moreland. The stone is
nearly 7 feet long, by 3 ft. 5 in.

wide, and is
traditionally The knownTomb." as " Crusader's
The " Crusader" himself was disinterred in 1846, in conse-
quence of some repairs within the chancel of the church,
and found to have been buried cross-legged. For a particular
account of this curious discovery, see the " Archaological
Journal," vol. iv.
p. 59. . . . . . 317

84. Military Flail : from Strutt's Horda, vol. i. Plate xxxn.

From the same MS. as our No. 51. (Benet Coll. Lib., C. 5.

xvi.) Compare the flail on woodcut 11. . . . 327

85. Great Seal of King Edward I. Drawn from impression at

Carlton Ride marked H. 20 and Harl. Charter, 43, C. 52.
;

The king is armed in hauberk and chausses of chain-mail,

XXIV DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS.
Page
with helm having moveable visor and he wears the shorter
;

surcoat without armorial decoration. The shield presents

no new feature. The mountings of the sword are of an un-
usual pattern : the fleur-de-lis ornament at the extremity is

again seen at the hinge of the visor. This is the first Eng-

86.
cally ensigned

Horse in housing of chain-mail

......
lish royal seal in which the housing of the steed

:
is

from the Painted Cham-

heraldi-

339

ber Representations of the mailed steed are extremely

13
.

rare, though the descriptions of them are frequent. The

knight has here an armoried surcoat, and wears the usual
" barrel helm" of the time . . . . .342

87. Seal and counter-seal of Roger de Quinci, second earl of

Winchester, 1219-64. The arming of both figures is exactly

the same: hauberk and chausses of chain-mail, cylindrical

helm, triangular bowed shield, and two-edged sword. The

wyvern which seems to form a crest to the helm in the
counter-seal, is in fact only an ornament used to fill
up the
space left after the word "SCOCIE" The in the legend.

flower in the same seal, and the similar wyvern in the ob-

verse, are employed with a like view of enriching the com-

position with ornament. De Quinci was Lord High Steward

of Scotland by right of his wife, and on the reverse-seal before
" Constabularius
us, where he is described as Scocie," we
have the figure of the Scottish Lion the seeming combat :

between the two being an ingenious fancy of the artist.

Compare "Winchester Volume of Archaeological Institute,
and Laing's Ancient Scottish Seals, p. 113
p. 103, . . 346

88. Wager of Battle between Walter Blowberme and Hamon le

Stare, from the original roll in the Tower. The document is

noticed in Madox's History of the Exchequer, with an en-

graving, p. 383. He describes the incident as " a pretty re-

markable Case of a Duell that was fought in the reign of
K. Henry III. ... A
Duell was struck. And Hamon being

vanquished in the Combat, was adjudged to be hanged" 375 .

b
Plates xxxi. and xxxvu.
 DESCRIPTION OF THE ENGRAVINGS. XXV
Page
89. Caerphilly Castle, Glamorganshire. Built about 1275. We
have here the type of the " Edwardian Castle ;" differing
from the Norman stronghold essentially in this that, while :

the Norman fortress was a massive building surrounded by

a court, the Edwardian arrangement was a court surrounded

by strong buildings. The buildings themselves differed in

many particulars, not only from their Norman predecessors,

but from each other and it would require a volume to ex-
;

amine at large the many curious devices for offence and de-
fence that are exhibited in the various examples left to our
times. "We must again refer the student to the admirableVork
of M. Yiollet-le-Duc, Architecture Militaire du Moyen-Age,
and to the able paper on the same subject in the first volume

of the "ArchaBological Journal." And, for a complete account

of the works at Caerpliilly, see the ArcJiceologia Cambrensis,
vol. i., N. S. The engraving before us is from a drawing by
Mr. G. T. Clark, in which some portion of the lost buildings
has been supplied from the indications afforded by a careful

survey of those remaining. Conspicuous in front is the Great

Hall, with its louvre. Below is a water-gate, leading from
the moat into the interior of the castle. Various outworks
are connected with the main structure by means of draw-

stream which supplies the moat ....

bridges, and at the right-hand corner is a mill, turned by the
377
 ANCIENT ARMOUR,
to-

PAET I.

FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE IRON PERIOD TO THE

ELEVENTH CENTURY.

BY whatever race Europe may have been originally

peopled, this portion of the world seems to have been
swept by successive tribes of adventurers from Central
Asia. The so-called "Allophylian race" was displaced
by the Celts; the Sclaves then drove the Celts to the
west, and the Tshuds into the cold regions of the north ;

and lastly, the Teutonic conquerors, dispossessing at will

the nations that had preceded them, laid the foundation
of that vast social empire which at present, in Europe, in

America, in Asia, and in the new world of the South

Seas, rules the destinies of half the globe. For the pur-
poses of art, the long period of time at which we have so
rapidly glanced has been divided into the Stone Period,
the Bronze Period, and the Iron Period ; names derived
from the materials which were in general use during the
progress of the various races towards civilization; a
division which, though, from its great comprehensiveness,

necessarily open to some objection, seems likely to be of

B
 ANCIENT ARMOUR

much use in simplifying a study hitherto embarrassing

alike to the general reader, and to those whose task it is

to extend the range of our knowledge.

With the nations of the Stone Period and the Bronze
Period we do not purpose to occupy ourselves; not that
the relics of their times are of an inferior interest, but

that, in commencing with the days of the iron-workers,

which for general purposes we assume to be identical
with the retirement of the Eomans beyond the Alps, and
the domination of the northern nations in the centre and
west of Europe, we feel that we have a task before us

already much greater than we can hope to fulfil, either

to the satisfaction of our readers, or our own. If we
leave much undone, we shall endeavour, in that we do,
to be exact. Modern archaeology differs from the old
antiquarianism especially in this, that whatever it con-
tributes to knowledge is required to be scrupulously true.
A monkish chronicler of the fourteenth century is no
longer held to be an authority for the affairs of the
twelfth ; an illuminated Froissart of the fifteenth century
is no more permitted to supply us with portraits of the
Black Prince, or the costume of Duguesclin. Our pic-
tures are no longer copies of copies neither are they;

mere versions of old art. "We must have line for line,
point for point. This is essential, for two reasons we :

are freed from the danger of any wrong interpretation of

an historic fact,and we keep in view the characteristic
art of the period under examination. The importance of
this practice admitted, we shall be excused for stating
that almost all the illustrations of this work have been
drawn by the writer when from manuscripts, the col-
;

lection and folio of the volume have been carefully re-

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. $

corded, so that the truthfulness of the copy may be readily-

tested ; drawings had been transferred to the
after the

wood, they were carefully examined before the graver

was permitted to commence its work; and if, in spite
of every precaution, some unlucky error would at last
creep in, the mistake was always rectified with new

engraving.
The chief evidences for the military equipment and
usages of the Teutonic conquerors of Europe, from the
period of the dismemberment of the Eoman empire to
the great triumphs achieved by the Normans in the
eleventh century, are the writers of those times, the
miniatures which decorate their works, and the graves
of these ancient races ;
which last have of late years
yielded a wondrous harvest of valuable memorials, illus-
trating as well the domestic practices of their occupants,
as their warlike array. If these three classes of monu-
ments are useful in supplying each other's deficiencies,
still more valuable do they become to the archaeologist

and the historian, by the confirmation which they mu-

tually afford to each other's testimony. A few dis-

crepancies indeed occasionally appear on points of mi-

nute detail ;
and it is in the pages of the historians and
chroniclers that these are generally found : but when we
consider the difficulty of the transmission of knowledge
in those days, and the errors that may have crept in
from the negligence of book-copyists through so many
successive generations, the wonder is, not that something
has been left obscure, but that so much has been faith-
fully transmitted to our times.
The various sons of Odin, whether settled in Germany,
in Gaul, in Iberia, in
Scandinavia, or in Britain, bore a
B2
4 ANCIENT AEMOUR

strong resemblance to each other, both in their military

equipment, and in such tactics as they possessed. If
we branch of this vast family combating the
find one

Eomans with more than usual art, or conducting a cam-

paign with larger strategical views than their fellows,
we must attribute it rather to the superior skill of a par-
having borrowed some valuable
ticular leader, or to their

hints from the practice of their opponents, than to any

essential difference between this or that tribe of Teutons,

between the dwellers on the right bank of the Ehine

and the dwellers on the left bank, between those whose
huts were on the the Waal, and those who had
flats of

built their cabins in the valleys of the Loire. Such dif-

ferences as have been observed, we shall point out in our

progress ; but we are inclined to believe that, as collec-

tions are augmented and comparisons extended, resem-
blances will be found to increase, and differences to
diminish.

Among the writers who afford us information on the

early weapons and mode of warfare of that branch of the

Teutonic family which acquired the name of Franks, there
are three whose testimony is of especial value to us and ;

we must again remark, that what was particularly true

of the Franks was generally true of the Anglo-Saxons,
and of the cognate tribes which traversed Europe as
all

conquerors. These three writers are Sidonius Apol-

linaris,bishop of Auvergne, who, in the fifth century,
wrote his Panegyric of the Emperor Majorian ; Procopius,
the secretary of Belisarius, who lived in the sixth cen-

tury,and was an eye-witness of the facts he records ;

and Agathias, a Greek historian, who flourished in the

seventh century. "The Franks," says Sidonius, de-
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 5

scribing the defeat of their king Clodion by the Eoman

general Aetius, "are a tall race, and clad in garments
which fit them closely. A belt (balteus) encircles their
waist. They hurl their axes (Upennes) and cast their
spears (hastas) with great force, never missing their aim.
They manage their shields with much address, and rush
on their enemy with such velocity, that they seem to fly
more rapidly than their javelins (hastas). They accustom
themselves to warfare from their earliest years, and if

overpowered by the multitude of their enemies, they meet

their end without fear. Even in death their features
retain the expression of their indomitable valour:
" 'Invicti
perstant, animoque supersunt
"
Jam prope post animam.'

Procopius, describing the expedition of the Franks

into Italy in the sixth century, tells us: "Among the
hundred thousand men that the king (Theodobert I.)
led into Italy, there were but few horsemen, and these
he kept about his person. This cavalry alone carried
spears (hastas). The remainder were infantry, who had
neither spear nor bow, (non arcu, non hastd armati,) all
their arms being a sword, an axe, and a shield. The
blade of the axe was large, its handle of wood, and

very short. At a given signal they march forward;

on approaching the adverse ranks they hurl their axes
against the shields of the enemy, which by this means
are broken ; and then, springing on the foe, they com-

plete his destruction with the sword a ."

" The arms
Agathias, in the seventh century, writes :

of the Franks are very rude ; they wear neither coat-of-

fence nor greaves, their legs being protected by bands of

De Bello Goth., lib. ii. c. 25.

6 ANCIENT ARMOUR

linen or leather. They have little cavalry, but their in-

fantry are skilful and well disciplined. They wear their
swords on the left thigh, and are furnished with shields.
The bow and the sling are not in use among them, but they
carry double axes (TreAe/ce^ d^to-To/jiov^ and barbed
spears (ayyco *>$*.) These spears, which are of a moderate
length, they use either for thrusting or hurling. The
staves of them are armed with iron, so that very little

of the wood remains uncovered 1

". The head has two
barbs, projecting downwards as far as the shaft. In

battle,they cast this spear at the enemy, which becomes

so firmly fixed in the flesh by the two barbs, that it
cannot be withdrawn ;
neither can it be disengaged if it

pierce the shield, for the iron with which the staff is

covered prevents the adversary from ridding himself of

it by means of his sword. At this moment the Frank
rushes forward, places his foot on the shaft of the spear
as it trails upon the ground, and having thus deprived
his foe of his defence, cleaves his skull with his axe,

or transfixes him with a second spear ."

"We here see that the usual arms of the Franks at this

time were the axe, the sword, the spear, of two kinds,
and the shield. Body-armour is not worn by the
soldiery at large ;
and the chief device of the assailant
is to deprive his adversary of the aid of his shield, in
order that no obstacle may stand between his brawny
arm and death. of cavalry is small, and
The provision
the few horsemen that are found appear rather as a body-

guard to the prince than as an ingredient of the army.

The evidences above quoted are borne out, not alone by
the contents of the Teutonic graves, but by other passages

b c
Bk.
See Archseologia, vol. xxxvi. p. 78. ii.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 7

of ancient writers. Gregory of Tours, in the sixth cen-

tury, tells us that Clovis, reviewing his troops soon
after the battle of Soissons, reprimanded a slovenly
" There is no one here
soldier, by telling him, whose
arms are so ill kept as yours neither your spear :

(liasta),
nor your sword (gladius\ nor your axe (bipen-

nis\ is
d
fit for service ." This author adds a new

weapon Prankish soldier's equipment, in which

to the

he is equally supported by the evidences from the

graves. They carried also, he tells us, a dagger, which
was worn suspended from the belt. Tacitus, as early
as the second century, described with great exactness
the spear-javelin named by Agathias. The whole pas-
sage is so curiously illustrative of our subject, that we
venture to quote it: "Ban
aut majoribus lan-
gladiis,
ceis utuntur, hastas, vel ipsorum vocabulo frameas, ge-

runt, angusto et brevi ferro, sed ita acri et ad usum

habili ut eodem telo, prout ratio poscit, vel cominus
vel eminus pugnent: et eques quidem scuto frameaque
contentus est :
pedites et missilia spargunt, pluraque
singuli, atque in immensum vibrant, nudi aut sagulo
leves, nulla cultus jactatio : scuta tantum lectissimis
coloribus distinguunt: paucis loricae, vix uni alterive
cassis aut galea." (Germania.)
In the long and fierce contention between the North
and the South, between the rugged Goth and the
polished Boman, could not but happen that an
it

adroit captain of the ruder host would avail himself of

the greater skill of his adversaries; that every cam-

paign would teach some new formation, that every battle

would disclose some useful stratagem :
weapons would be
d Lib.
ii. c. 27.
8 ANCIENT ARMOUR

improved, enriched, and augmented in their variety ; the

defensive armour of the leaders would extend to their

subordinates; while the leaders, to retain their dis-

tinction, would be induced to render their panoply more

splendid and more costly. We

find, therefore, in the

poems and chronicles of this later time, constant men-

tion of rich arms and armour; and in the capitularies
of Charlemagne especially, we get a glimpse of the im-
provements in northern warfare. "Let each count, "
commands the emperor, "be careful that the troops he
has to lead to battle are fully equipped ;
that they have

spear, shield, a bow witK two strings, and twelve arrows,

e
helmet, and coat-of-fence ." We
here see the soldiery

adding to their defensive appointments the casque and

lorica, and to their offensive arms the bow and arrows.
The equipment of Charlemagne himself has been handed
down to us in the contemporary description of the Monk
of Saint Gall. The head of the monarch was armed
with an iron helmet, " his iron breast and his shoulders

of marble were defended by a cuirasse of iron." His

arms and legs were also covered with armour ;
of which
the cuissards appear to have been composed of the
jazerant-work so much in vogue a later period
at :

" coxarum
exteriora : in eo ferreis ambiebantur bracte-
f
olis ." The followers of the prince, adds his biographer,
were similarly defended, except that they dispensed
with the cuissards, which were inconvenient on horseback.
The proportion of cavalry continued to increase, as we
clearly see from this phrase in a capitulary of diaries le

Chauve :
"Utpagenses franci qui caballos habent, aut

e f
Vol. i.
p. 508, ed. Baluz. Life of Charlemagne, bk. ii.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 9

habere possunt, cum suis comitibus in hostem pergant."

"
By the clause, aut habere possunt," it appears evident
that some effort was expected to be made in order to
extend this force.

Under Clovis and his immediate successors, (sixth cen-

tury,) the Frankish army seems to have been pretty

strictly limited to that race. But later, the Burgundians,
and then the Germans, and at length the Gauls them-
selves, were admitted to the service. The troops were
levied in the various provinces, and bore their names ;
as
the Andegavi, the Biturici, the Coenomanici, the Pictavi.
Their leaders were the king, the dukes, and the counts.
The Church landF were bound to furnish their contingent
of armed men. The exempts were the very young, the
old, the sick
g
and the newly married for the term of
,

one year h The provinces not only furnished the fight-

.

ing men, but their arms, clothing, and a supply of food.

""We order," says another of the capitularies of Charle-
"
magne, that, according to ancient custom, each man pro-
vide himself in his province with food for three months,
and with arms and clothing for half a year 1
." It may
be inferred from this order, that the prince trusted, for
the last three months' sustenance of his troops, to the
maxim always so much in favour with conquerors, that
war should be made to maintain war.

In England, the Teutonic adventurers, when by many

a fierce battle they had established a footing, and by the

league of many a tribe they had united themselves into

a large and powerful community, seem to have divided
their society into two classes, the Eorl, or noble, and the

* Laws of the h
Visigoths. Capit. of Charlemagne.
5
Lib, iii. c. 74,
10 ANCIENT AKMOUR

" Before the time of

Ceorl, or freeman. Canute," remarks
Mr. Kemble, "the ealdorman, or duke, was the leader of
the posse comitatus, or levy en masse, as well as of his own
followers The only superior dignities were the king
1
"."

and archbishop. The subordinate commands were held by

the royal officers, who led the nobles and their retainers ;
the bishops or abbots' officers, who were at the head of
7

the Church vassals ;

and the sheriffs, who conducted the

posse comitatus
1
. No distinct intimation of the dress of
the ealdorman has come down to us, but he probably
wore a beak, or ring, upon his head, the fetel, or em-
broidered belt, and the golden hilt which seems to have
been peculiar to the noble class. The staff and sword
were probably borne by him as symbols of his civil and
criminal jurisdiction 111
. But the new constitution intro-
duced by Canute reduced the ealdorman to a subordi-
nate position. Over several counties was now placed
one eorl, or earl, Northern sense, a jarl,) with
(in the
power analogous to that of the Prankish dukes. The
king rules by his earls and huscarlas, and the ealdormen
vanish from the counties. Gradually this old title ceases

altogether, except in the 'cities, where it denotes an

inferior judicature, much as it does among ourselves at
the present day n .

The huscarlas were a kind of household troops, vari-

ously estimated at three thousand or six thousand men.
They were formed on the model of the earlier comites,
but probably not organized as a regular force till the
time of Canute. To this prince, living as he was among
a conquered and turbulent people, the maintenance of

k
Saxons in England, vol. ii.
p. 138.
l
lb., p. 164
145. "
lb., p. Ib., p. 149.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUEOPE. 11

such a band, always well armed, and ready for the fray,
was of the first necessity. Their weapons were the

axe, the halbard, and the sword; this last being inlaid
with gold. From the collocation of names among the
witnesses to a charter of the middle of the eleventh

century, we may infer that the stealleras, or marshals,

were the commanding officers of the huscarlas In .

imitation of the king, the great nobles surrounded

themselves with a body-guard of huscarlas, and they
continued to exist as a royal establishment after the

Conquest.
Like his ancestors, the ancient Germans, of whom
Tacitus tells us, "nihil neque publics neque privatee
rei nisi armati agunt," the Anglo-Saxon freeman al-

ways went armed a circumstance, however, that proves,

;

not so much the extent of his freedom, as the smallness

of his civilization. The
ancient Egyptians, on the con-

trary, always went unarmed and -in the Kristendom's

;

Saga we read, that among the Icelanders, about 1139,

so great was the security, that "men no longer carried

weapons at a public meeting, and that scarcely more

than a single helmet could be seen at a judicial as-
p
semblage ."

The mode of raising ships among the Anglo-Saxons

we learn from an entry in the Saxon Chronicle under
" commanded that
the year 1008 This year
: the king
ships should be speedily built throughout the nation ; to
wit from three hundred hides, and from ten hides, one
:

vessel; and from eight hides, a helmet and a coat-of-

fence."
On especial occasions, the ships of war appear to have
p 14.
Codex diplom. ^Evi Sax., no. 956. c.
12 ANCIENT AEMOUR

been decorated in a very costly manner; as we may

gather from the present of Earl Godwin to Hardecanute,
described "
by "William of Malmesbury Hardecanute
:

looking angrily upon Godwin, the earl was obliged to

clear himself by oath. But, in hopes of recovering en-
tirely the favour of the king, he added to his oath a

present of the most rich and beautiful kind. It was

a ship with a bealv of gold, having on board eighty

soldiers, who wore two bracelets on either arm, each

weighing sixteen ounces of gold. They had gilt hel-

mets in the right hand they carried a spear of iron
; ;

on the left shoulder they bore a Danish axe; in a

word, they were equipped with such arms, as that,
splendour vying with terror, might conceal the steel
beneath the gold q ."
The military system of the Danes in their own
country, and of their Scandinavian brethren, may be
gathered from what we have told of the changes wrought
in England by King Canute. By the laws of Gula,
said to have been originally established by King Hacon
the Good, in 940, whoever possessed the sum of six

marks, besides his clothes, -was required to furnish him-

self with a red shield of two boards in thickness (tui-

lyrding), a spear, an axe or a sword. He who was

worth twelve marks was ordered to procure in addition
a steel cap (stdl-hufu) ; whilst he who was worth eigh-
teen marks was obliged to have a double red shield,
a helmet, a coat-of-fence or gambeson (bryniu or panzar),
and all usual weapons (folkvopri).
always the theatre of the most sanguinary wars,
Italy,
torn and wasted by the troops of pope and of emperor,
q
Malmesb., ad an. 1041.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 13

and of its own citizens contending against each other;

invaded and overrun by barbarian neighbours, by the
Hungarians on the north, and by the Saracens on the
south, presented a melange of warlike usages and war-
like equipment in which the East and the West, the

North and the South became intermingled in such a

manner as to give to the whole country the appearance
of a vast military masquerade; an imbroglio which, in
our time, itwould be a useless attempt to resolve into
its original elements. In the eleventh century, the con-
suls of the cities, succeeding to the functions which had
been enjoyed by the dui.es and counts, commanded the
troops of their respective districts, and marched at their
head, whether the expedition was undertaken under the
banner of the emperor, or the result of a private dissen-
sion between two rival cities. The employed in
forces

these services differed in nothing from those of the west

of Europe; the strength of the host consisted of the

heavy-armed knights with lance and target, while the

communal levy fought with such weapons as they could
best wield or most easily obtain. The Hungarians, who
overran the country as far as the Tiber on the north, and
the Saracens, who harried the land to the south of that

river, acted in small bodies of light cavalry, compen-

sating by the rapidity of their movements for the inferior

solidity of their armament. Before the expeditions of

these marauders, the Italian cities had been open; but
their depredations at length (that is, about the close of
the ninth century,) caused the citizens to construct walls,
to organize a communal militia for the defence of their

homes, and to place officers selected from their own body

at the head of their little armies.
14 ANCIENT ARMOUR

From very early times, and almost throughout the

middle ages, the clergy are found occasionally taking part
in warlike enterprises one principal reason of which
;

may have been, that, by personally heading their contin-

gent, they escaped from the exactions and caprices of the

vicedomini. Their presence in battle and siege is proved,
not only by the direct testimony of cotemporary writers,
but by the prohibitions that from time to time were
issued against the practice. From Gregory of Tours we
learn, that at the siege of Comminges by the Burgundian

monarch, the bishop of Gap often appeared among the

defenders of the town, hurling stones from the walls on
the assailants.Hugh, abbot of St. Quentin, a son of
Charlemagne, was slain before Toulouse, with the abbot
of Ferriere and at the same time, two bishops were
;

made prisoners. The Saxon Chronicle, under the year

"
1056, says :
Leofgar was appointed bishop. He was
the mass-priest of Harold the earl. He wore his knap-
sack during his priesthood until he was a bishop. He
forsook his chrism and his rood, his ghostly weapons, and
took to his spear and his sword after his bishophood ;

and so went to the field against Griffin, the Welsh king :

and there was he slain, and his priests with him" At

the Council of Estines, in 743, it is forbidden " to all who
are in the service of the Church to bear arms and to

fight,and none are to accompany the army but those

appointed to celebrate mass, to hear confessions, and to
carry the relics of the saints." The Council of Soissons,
in 744, records a similar prohibition against the abbots :

"
Abbates legitimi hostem non faciant, nisi tantum ho-
mines eorum transmittant." The capitularies of Charle-
magne contain similar ordinances : the priests are for-
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 15

bidden to combat " even against the pagans." The Anglo-

Saxon clerics seem to have been no less belligerent than
their neighbours ;
and Mr. Kemble sums up this part of

the question in the following words "

Though it is pro-
:

bable that the bishop's gerefa was bound to lead his con-
tingent, under the command of the ealdorman, yet we
have ample evidence that the prelates themselves did not
hold their station to excuse them from taking part in the

just and lawful defence of their country and religion

against strange and pagan invaders. Too many fell in
conflict to allow of our attributing their presence on the
field merely to their anxiety lest the belligerents should

be without the due consolations of religion ; and in other

cases, upon the alarm of hostile incursions, we find the
levies stated to have been led against the enemy by the
duke and bishop of the district "." 1

If there were Churchmen whom it was difficult to re-

strain from fight and foray, there were, on the other

hand, laics who sought to escape the service by donning
the cowl or chasuble. A capitulary of Charlemagne was
" liberi homines" from
necessary to prevent certain be-

coming either priests or monks, in order to avoid the

8
military duties attached to their station .

The matrons of the North appear occasionally to have

taken part in the defence of their country. William of

Jumieges, describing the resistance of the Normans to the

attack of the English in 1000, writes " Sed et fceminse :

pugnatrices, robustissimos quosque hostium vectibus hy-

driarum suarum excerebrantes." Wace, noticing the
same event, says :

"Li vieilles i sont comes,

pels, o m aches, o machues,
r
Saxons in England, ii. 395. *
Lib. i.
cap. 120.
16 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Escorciecs e rebraciees* :

De bien ferir apareillees."

And the English sailors, on their return after the defeat

of their soldiery, themselves describe them as

" Granz vieilles deschevelees,

Ki sembloent fames desvees 11

."

As we have before seen, the tactics of the Northern

nations were borrowed in a great measure from the
Eomans. As early as the time of Tacitus, the Germans
disposed their troops in the form of the emeus, or wedge :

" Acies
per cuneos componitur." (Germania.) And in
the account given by Agathias of the battle of the Casi-
linus in 553, we are told that the wedge was still the ar-

rangement adopted for the central division of the Frankish

x
army, while the remainder was marshalled in two wings .

When a force of infantry had to contend against an

army in which many horse were employed, they sought
by serried ranks and by a favourable position to obtain the
advantage over their enemy. This was the plan of the
English at Hastings. A trench was before them,
"En la champaigne out un fosse" TFace, Roman de Rou.

Behind which, says the Carmen de bello Hastingensi,

" stat fixa solo densissima turba." v. 451.

Anglorum

And Henry of
"
Huntingdon: quasi castellum, impene-
" All were
trabile Normannis." And again, Malmesbury :

on foot, armed with battle-axes and, covering them- ;

selves by the junction of their shields, they

in front
formed an impenetrable body, which would have secured
their safety that day, had not the Normans by a feigned
*
" x Lib.
decouvertes et retrousses. femmes enraaees. ii.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 17

flight induced them to open their ranks, which till that

time, according custom were closely compacted y ."

to their ,

As early as the middle of the eleventh century, it was

sought to familiarize the Anglo-Saxons with the eques-
trianmode of warfare of their neighbours, the Normans.
In 1055 the alien captain of the garrison of Hereford,

Eaulfe, directed the English to serve on horseback;

which, says the chronicler, was contrary to their usage :

" contra morem in

Anglos equis pugnare jussitV
Omens in the earlier times, saintly relics in the later,
were held in the highest estimation for the assurance
of victory. The ancient Germans, as we learn from
Csesar, consulted their matrons as to the lucky hour for
them to engage battle, and would not advance till the
a
moon was propitious . At the battle of the Casilinus,

already noticed, some of the German auxiliaries of the

Franks were unwilling to engage because their augurs
had declared the moment to be unfavourable b Gregory of .

Tours notices the custom of the Christian kings of France

to seek a lucky omen from the services of the Church ;
and recounts that Clovis, arriving in Touraine on his
expedition against Alaric, sent his retainers to the church
in which the body of Saint Martin was deposited, in
order to notice the words that should be uttered on their

entry within the sacred walls. The king's satisfaction

was extreme when the courtiers reported the passage of

y Lib. iii. cinationibus declararent, utrum proelium

z
Roger of Hoveden, sub an. 1055. committi ex usu esset, necne : eas ita di-
a " Germanos superare,
Quum ex captivis qusereret Caesar, cere, non esse fas si

quamobrem non de-

Aripvistus prcelio ante novam lunam proelio contendissent."
certaret, hunc reperiebat causam quod : Sett. Gall., lib. i.

b
apud Germanos ea consuetude esset, ut Agathias.
matresfamilias eorum sortibus et vati-
18 ANCIENT ARMOUR

the eighteenth Psalm " Tu mihi virtute ad bellum

:

accinctos meos adversaries subjicis ."

Harold's " was
lucky day" on which he Saturday ;

therefore fixes, to measure his strength with Duke Wil-

liam. Saturday was his birthday, and his mother had
frequently assured him that projects undertaken on that

day would bring him good fortune :

"
Guert, dist Heraut,
Jor li assis a Samedi,
Por 90 ke Samedi naski.
Ma mere dire me soleit
Ke a eel jor bien m' aveindreit."
Rom. de Ron, 1. 13054.

Saintly relics were carried in procession to insure a

successful expedition, or worn about the person of the

combatant, or enclosed in a feretory and set up on the

field of battle. Pope Gregory the Great included among
the presents which he sent to Childebert II., certain
relics which, worn round the neck in battle, would de-

fend him from all harm " collo a malis

:
quse suspensae
omnibus vos tueantur d ." When Eollo, duke of Nor-
mandy, besieged Chartres, the bishop assembled the
clergy and people, and
" Traist horz entre sis mainz, d' une chasse u el fu,

La kemise a la Virge.
* # #

Reliques e corz sainz fist mult tost avant traire,

Filatieres e testes et altres Saintuaires 6 :

Ke lessia croix, ne chasse, ne galice f en aumaire.

* * #
Li Eveske meisme porta por gonfanon
Li plus chieres reliques par la procession."

c e
Lib. ii. c. 37. Holy things.
d ad Childebert. f
Epist. Greg. Papae Chalice.

Apud Scrip, rer. Franc., iv. 17.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 1 9

The effect of all this upon Eollo was most startling :

" Quant Ron si si s' en est esbahi

grant gent vei,
De la procession ki de Chartres issi :

Des relikes k'ils portent, e des cants k'il o'i ;

De la Sainte Kemise ke la Dame vesti,

Ki Mere e Virge fu
N'i osa pester, verz sis nes& tost s' enfui ;

E, come pluseors distrent, la veue perdi.

Mez tost la recovra et asez tost gari."
Horn, de Rou, vol. i.
p. 81.

William the Conqueror and his barons, wanting a wind

to invade England, addressed themselves to the monks
of S. Valery ; and
" unt tant li covent
preie
Ke la chasse Saint Valeri
Mistrent as chams sor un tapi.
Al cors saint vinrent tuit orer
Cil ki debveient mer passer :

Tant i ont tuit deniers offert,

Tot li cors saint en ont covert.

Emprez eel jor, asez briement,

Orent bon ore h e bon vent." Horn, de Rou, ii. 146.

But the most curious accumulation of these "sain-

tuaires" was on the field of Hastings, where Duke Wil-
liam had a portable altar, enclosing divers relics of saints
and martyrs, other relics being suspended round his neck;
while before him was borne a sacred standard which had
been blessed by the Pope, and on his finger was placed a
" the
ring, (also sent by apostle,") in which was set,
according to some evidences, one of the hairs of St. Peter ;
1

according to others, one of his teeth :

" L'
Apostoile (li otreia,)
Un gonfanon li enveia ;

Un gonfanon et un anel
Mult precios e riche e bel :

* h
Ships. Gale.
5
Chron. of Battle Abbey; Ordericus Vitalis ; Wace.

C 2
 20 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Si come il dit, de soz la pierre

Aveit un des cheveuls Saint Pierre."

Or, following another manuscript of the Roman de

Bon,
" de soz la pierre
Aveit une des denz Saint Pierre."
|
In these days, when the shock of armies was not ac-
companied by the thunder of cannon, when the silent
flight of the arrow, the hum of the sling-stone, or the
whirr of the javelin, were all that preceded the hand-to-
hand conflict, no small account was made of the various
war-cries of opposing chieftains. not only war- And
cries, but even songs, were employed to encourage the
assailants or intimidate the foe ; of which the Song of

Eoland, sung by Taillefer on the field of Hastings, is an

example in the memory of every reader. Snorro, in the
*
Heimskringla, has preserved a fragment of the improvised
verses sung by Harold Harfagar, as, mounted on his
black charger, he passed along the line of his troops

previous to the battle of Stanford-Bridge The pagan 11

.

Northmen invoked a practice that was

their divinities,

continued, according to the chronicle of Wace, to the

middle of the eleventh century ; for, of Eaoul Tesson at
the battle of Val-des-Dunes, he writes :

" De la gent done esteit emmie l

Poinst li cheval, criant Tur aie m

# * *
, Gil de France client Montjoie.
Willame crie Dex die :

C'est 1'enseigne de Normendie.

k
Heimsk., iii. 161. Saxons in England, i. 350 ; and Thierry's
1
"in the midst." ConquSte de I' Ang. par les Normands,
m "
Thor, aid !" or perhaps Tyr, the sub an. 912 997.
Mars of the Northmen. See Kemble's
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 21

E Renouf crie o grant pooir,

Saint Sever, Sire Saint Sevoir.
E Dam As Denz n va reclamant,
Saint Amant, Sire Saint Amant."
Rom. de Ron, ii. 32, seq.

In the fight between Lothaire, king of France, and

Bichard I.,
duke of Normandy,

"France!?: orient Mbnjoe, e Nbrmanz Dex die:

Elamenz orient Asraz e Angevin Valie :
E li Quens Thibaut Chartres et passe avant crie."
Ibid., i. 238.

At the field of Hastings, the English

" Olicrosse sovent
crioent,
E Godemite reclamoent.
Olicrosse est en engleiz
Ke Sainte Croix est en franceiz ;

E Godemite altretant
Com en frenceiz Dex tot poissant." Ibid., ii. 213.

To complete our sketch of the Anglo-Saxon warrior,

we may add that he wore both beard and moustache,
neither of which were in vogue among the soldiers of

Duke William. Wace has not omitted this point. The

Normans
"N'unt mie barbe ne guernons ,

Co dist Heraut, com nos avons." Rom. de Rou, ii. 174.P

Let us now examine a little more in detail the arms,

offensive and defensive, of the various Northern tribes, at

whose military institutions and practices we have taken
so rapid a glance. <

The SPEARS seem to have been of two kinds : the

longer spear in use among the cavalry, or to be employed

n
Hamon - aux - Dents, seigneur de Moustaches.
Thorigny, of which place the church p See also Malmeshury, bk. iii., sub
is dedicated to S. Amand. an. 1066.
 ANCIENT ARMOUR [PLATE 11.

10
PLATE III.] AND WEAPONS IN EU1IUPK,

I
24 ANCIENT ARMOUR

against them ;
and the shorter kind, which, as we have \

seen, might serve either as a javelin, or for the thrust at

close quarters. In the accompanying groups of spear-
heads, found in graves in different parts of Europe, we
have collected the principal varieties of form p the leaf- :

shaped, the lozenge, the spike, the ogee, the barbed, and
the four-edged. These forms are infinitely varied in the
monuments of the time, by giving to the weapons more or
less of breadth or of slenderness. The
blades are always
of iron, and those found in England have a longitudinal

opening in the socket. Their length is various, but they

usually range from ten to fifteen inches. In the cemetery
at Little Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire, the smallest found

was two and a half inches, the longest eighteen inches' 1

.

In the Ozingell cemetery (in Kent), they occur of twenty-

one inches in length r The spear-heads of this period found
.

in Ireland differ but from the examples discovered

little

in England and on -the Continent. Those from the Ballin-

" are
derry find, observes Mr. Wakeman, singularly like
specimens found at Ozingell." In Anglo-Saxon interments,
the spears occur in much greater numbers than any of the
other weapons. The cemetery Wilbraham pro-
at Little

duced thirty-five spears, but only four swords and the ;

axes, in all similar explorations, are of still

greater rarity.
These usual types of the spear-head found in Great Bri-
tain closely resemble those discovered in the graves of

Prance, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland. Numerous

examples of them will be found figured in the Abbe

P The particular localities where the i "Saxon Obsequies," by the Hon.

spears and other weapons have been R. C. Neville,
r
found are mentioned in the Description Collectanea Antiqua, vol. iii.

of the engraving's.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 25

8 1
Cochet's work
in Lindenschmit's Selzen Cemetery , in
,

u
Worsaae's Copenhagen Museum , and in Troy on' s Tom-
beaux de Bel- Air.
One of the things that strikes the student in turn-
first

ing over the illuminated manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxons,

and comparing their pictures with the relics procured
from the graves, is the great frequency in the paintings
of the barbed spear or angon, and its extreme rarity in
real examples. We
have already seen, in the description
of Agathias, that this weapon was employed with fearful
effect by the Franks in the seventh century; and the

constant occurrence of it in the vellum-paintings of a

later date, leaves us no room to doubt that it was a
familiar form to our Teutonic ancestors. Yet its oc-
currence in the graves is of the greatest rarity. We
have given, in our plate of spears, figure 17, a speci-
men of the barbed javelin, forming part of the Faussett
Collection, found in 1772 in a grave on Sibbertswould
Down, in Kent. Its length is eleven inches. Figure 23
in the same plate from Mr. Wylie's paper in the
is

Archseologia, (vol. xxxv.) the original, of iron, and in

;

length sixteen inches, was found in a Norwegian tu-

mulus. Mr. Wylie has also engraved another example,

preserved in the Musee de VArtillerie at Paris, said to

have been procured from a Merovingian grave. In the
Abbe Cochet's work (Plate xvi.) is figured another spe-
cimen, from a grave at Envermeu, the length of which is
five inches ; the barbs spreading out widely on each side,

exactly in the manner of the royal " broad-arrow.'* Se-

s
La Normandie Souterraine. u
Afbildninger fra det Kongelige Mu-
1
Das germanische Todtenlagcr bei seum for Nordiske Oldsager i Kjoben-
Selzen in der Provinz Rheinhessen. havn.
26 ANCIENT ARMOUR

veral examples are given in Worsaae's

Copenhagen Mu-
seum, p. 69 ;
one of which differs from the rest in having
the barb on one ^side only, the other side
being leaf-
shaped. The barbed spear or javelin has also been found
at Mainz, Darmstadt, and Wiesbaden x ;
but in all cases

it occurs in very small proportion to the other weapons

discovered.
The four-edged spear-head is of still greater rarity. In
the graves opened by Mr. Wylie at Fairford, in Glouces-

tershire, one of these curious weapons was obtained;

which we have copied from the volume describing this
find 7 ,
in our plate of spears, fig. 18. It is of iron, six-

teen and a half inches in length, and two inches across at

the broadest part. " It reminds one," remarks Mr. Wylie,
" of the "
spear of Thorolf in EigiPs Saga :" Cujus
ferrum duas ulnas longum, in mucronem quatuor acies

liabentem, desinebat." These four-edged weapons are of

the highest antiquity ;- compare those of the Egyptians,

figured and described in Sir Gardner Wilkinson's work*.

Another variety, found at Douvrend, and figured at
page 283 of La Normandie Souterraine, has a leaf-shaped
blade with recurved hooks at the socket end. Mr. Wylie
has given this example in his paper in the Archseologia,

(vol. xxxv. p. 48,) and considers it to be the weapon

named by Sidonius as forming part of the Frankish war-
rior'sequipment: "lancets uncatis, securibusque missili-
bus dextrae refertse." Four other examples of this spear
were found in the valley of the Eaulne a .

Occasionally the spear-head was formed with its two

* See the examples engraved in the z

Ancient Egyptians, vol. i.
p. 353,
Archaoologia, vol. xxxv. p. 78. sq., ed. 1854.
*
y "Fairford Graves." See the AbLe Cochet's work, p. 283.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUKOPE. 27

sides on different planes; with the object, as it would

appear, of giving a rotary motion to the weapon when
used as a javelin. Two examples of this construction are
described and engraved in the account of the excavations,
b
by Mr. Akerman, at Harnham Hill, near Salisbury .
The spear-head was generally attached to its shaft by
means of rivets passing through the socket into the wood
beneath. Sometimes, in lieu of the socket, there was a
spike at the base of it, which was driven into the wood,
as in one of the Livonian examples, now in the British

Museum, and figured in Dr. Bahr's work, Die Graber der

Liven. Sometimes, again, a ferule of bronze or iron was
added to the socketed spear-head at its junction with the
staff, example in Mr. Eolfe's museum, at Sand-
as in the

wich, obtained from the Ozingell graves, and figured on

our Plate n., fig. 6. In this instance the ferule was of
bronze. One of iron occurred in the cemetery at Linton

Heath, Cambridgeshire, (figured in Archseol. Journal,

vol. xi. p. 106). In manuscript illuminations the spear-
head of the Anglo-Saxons is constantly represented with
one or more cross-bars at the base of the blade. A spear
of iron having a cross-piece of analogous form was found
among Anglo-Saxon relics near Nottingham in recent

excavations, and has been added to the Tower Collection.

It is engraved in the Archaeological Journal, vol. viii.

p. 425.Similar examples are figured in the Illustrated

Catalogue of Mr. Eoach Smith's Museum, p. 103.

The have been generally of ash.
shaft itself appears to
Portions of the wood have been found at Wilbraham, at
Ozingell, at Northneet, and other places. Some of that
from Northfleet, having been examined by Professor
b
Arclueol., vol. xxxv.
28 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Lindley and by Mr. Girdwood, has been pronounced to

be undoubtedly ash c The general use of this wood is
.

confirmed " "

strikingly by several passages in Beowulf,
that curious Anglo-Saxon poem which the concurring
opinion of the best Northern scholars has assigned to
the close of the eighth century :

" Their
javelins piled together stood,
The seamen's arms, of ashen wood." Line 654.

And again, line 3535 :

" Thus I the

Hring-danes
for many a year

governed under heaven

and secured them with war
from many tribes

throughout this earth

with spears and swords.'*
and ecgum.}

In this passage, cescum, ash, is put for the spear itself.

Mr. Eoach Smith has collected several other instances of
" In
a similar kind. Caedmon, the term cesc-berend, or
spear-bearer, applied to a soldier." In the fragment of
is
"
the poetical History of Judith" we have tcsc-plega, the
play of spears, as a poetic term for a battle. So we have .

cesc-bora, a spear-bearer; and in the Codex Exoniensis,

" Beowulf :"-
cesc-stede, a field of battle. And again, in
" Eald
Mtc-wiga."
Some old spear- warrior d .

In the eleventh century we find the ashen spear again

mentioned. Eobert of Aix, describing the knights his
" Hastse
companions in the First Crusade, says fraxinece :

in manibus eorum ferro acutissimo prsefixae sunt, quasi

c d
Journal of Archasol. Association; vol. iii. Ibid.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 29

grandes perticaeV The Abbe Cochet, however, describes

the remains of a lance-shaft found at Envermeu as being
of oak black with age, and of an extreme hardness f
;
.

The staves were sometimes of a rich and costly charac-

ter. The heriot of the Anglo-Saxon Wulfsige consisted
of two horses, one helmet, one byrnie, one sword, and a
8
spear twined with gold .
The spear-staves deposited in the graves are necessa-
rily of the shorter kindthe length of the entire weapon
:

being about six feet; a fact easily ascertained by mea-

suring the distance from the blade to the iron shoe,
where that is found. This iron shoe is
generally a hollow
spike, into which the wood was fitted ;
as in that of the
" Fairford
Graves," Plate xi. the one from Northfleet,
;

(figured in the Journal of the Archaeological Association,

vol. iii.) ; and another in the Faussett
Collection, found
at Ash-by-Sandwich. Sometimes it was a button, to be
driven into the shaft by means of a nail issuing from its

centre. An
example of this variety is engraved in the
Nenia Britannica of Douglas.
Those who used the shorter spear or javelin were pro-
vided with several of these weapons, which they hurled

successively at the enemy. In Harleian MS., No. 603,

folio 30 h , may be seen a spearman holding three lozenge-
headed javelins. Caedmon's Paraphrase (Archaeologia,
vol. xxiv. Plate LV.) has a figure carrying three barbed
javelins (angones). In Harl. MS., 603, folio 56 b the ,

Destroying Angel has three barbed spears, one of which

e
Apud Bongars, p. 241. and the folio; but, where not expressed
f
Norinand. Souterr., p. 369. to the contrary, beg it to be understood
Kemble, Codex Dipl., No. 979. that the place of deposit is the British
h In quoting illuminated manuscripts, Museum,
we shall be careful to give the Collection
30 ANCIENT ARMOUR

is represented in another poised in the right

its flight,

hand, ready to follow, while the third is held in the left

hand, to be employed in its turn. This curious example
has been figured by Mr. Akerman, to illustrate his paper,
" On some of the of the Celtic and Teutonic
Weapons
Baces," in vol. xxxiv. of the Arohseologia.
Vegetius (lib. i. c. 2.) tells us that, in his day, the
barbarians were armed with two or three javelins, a

weapon which had fallen into disuse among the Bomans.

In the Bayeux tapestry there are figures of the Anglo-
Saxons furnished with three or four of these missiles.
Even in the graves of these people, the spears are some-
times found in pairs. Sir Henry Dryden, in his explor-
ations at Marston Hill, in Northamptonshire, met with
two warriors having two spears each. And the Hon. Mr.
Neville found at Little Wilbraham, in Cambridgeshire, an-
other example of a similar kind. The Wilbraham Ceme-
tery disclosed another curious usage. Where cremation
had been employed, spear-heads (and knives also) were in
several cases discovered in the urns. Kings as well as
their followers were buried with their weapons beside
them. The spear-head found in the tomb of Childeric,
which is of lozenge form, is engraved in the Milice Fran-
qoise of Father Daniel. This tomb was discovered in

1655, and the weapons found in it are preserved in

1
the Imperial Library at Paris .
A singular usage appears to have prevailed when the

spear and the axe were deposited in the same grave.

The spear in this case was reversed, the point at the
feet of the warrior. Examples of this practice have
been observed in Normandy, at Mondorf, and at Sel-

1
See Renault, 1655 ; and Chiflet, Anabasis Childerici Primi.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 31
k
zen . At Wilbraham, spear-heads were found at the
1
feet .

The pagan Northmen sought to enhance the value of

their arms by referring their fabrication to weapon-smiths

of a preternatural power. The Christianized Germans of

the tenth century obtained a similar result by the em-

ployment of iron from the reliquary. At the coronation

of the Emperor Otho the Great,
in 961, Walpert, arch-

bishop of Milan, presided at the solemnities the prince :

placed on the altar of Saint Ambrose all the royal in-

signia ;
the lance, of which the head had been forged out
of one of the nails of the true cross, the royal sword, the

axe, the belt, and the royal mantle. After some inter-
vening ceremonies, he was again armed with the weapons
which had been laid upon the altar, and the archbishop
on his head the iron crown of m
placed Lombardy .

Not the least interesting among the many singular

objects discovered by the Abbe Cochet in his researches
in Normandy, is the little silver coin containing the por-
trait of "un guerrier frank debout." In his right hand
the warrior carries his lance, while the left appears to
hold the well-known round target of his time. This
curious little relic is
engraved on page 359 of the Nor-
mandie Souterraine.
The SWORDS of the ante-Norman period maybe divided
into three classes : the earlier broadsword without cross-

piece, straight, double-edged, and acutely pointed ;

the
later sword, similar in fashion to the but having
above,
a guard, or cross-piece ;
and the curved weapon with a

k See Cochet, Lindenschmit, and the *

Saxon Obsequies.
Transactions of the Luxembourg m senioris Mediolanens.
Society, Landulphi
vol. viii. p. 45. Hist. Rer. ItaL, torn. iv. p. 79.
ANCIENT ARMOUR [PLATE IV.
PLATE V.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 33
 4 ANCIENT AEMOUR

concave edge, called in Anglo-Saxon the seax ; the sica

of classical times. The first has become familiar to us
from the numerous examples procured from the graves
of France, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and England.
This type agrees exactly with the description left us by
Sidonius Apollinaris ; who, recording a victory obtained

by the Franks over the Goths, has this passage: "Alii

hebetatorum csede gladiorum latera dentata pernumerant.
Alii ccesim atque punctim foraminatos circulos loricarum
metiuntur n ." We
have engraved, figure 1 of our plate
of swords, a fine specimen of this kind of weapon, which
was found among the " Fairford Graves." It is nearly

three feet in length (the usual size of these swords), and

when dug up, had fragments of the wood and leather
which once formed its scabbard, still adhering to the iron.
Other examples discovered in England are engraved in
Mr. Neville's " Saxon Obsequies," Mr. Akerman's " Pagan
Saxondom," and in the account of the Ozingell Cemetery .

German specimens appear in the "Selzen Cemetery," Swiss

in the Tombeaux de Bel- Air Danish in the " Copenhagen
',

Museum," p. 66, and Frankish in La Normandie Souter-

raine. The Irish swords are shorter than others of this

date, not exceeding thirty inches, as we learn from the

researches of Mr. Wakeman p
. That this sword of the
earlier Iron Period resembled the anterior bronze sword
in being without cross-piece, seems clear from two facts.

Firstly, no such provision (except in one or two isolated

cases) is found to accompany the weapons disclosed by

the graves; secondly, it has been remarked, that in

many instances, where the wood of the handle and that

of the sheath remain, they approach so closely together,

n *
Lib. iii.
Ep. 3. Collect. Antiq., vol. iii. Ibid.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 35

that there is no space left for any intervening ap-

pendage.
The sword with cross-piece appears to belong to the
later Iron Period. When real examples are found in
this country,and in others early Christianised, they are
generally dredged from the beds of rivers, or turned up
among old foundations though in states where paganism
;

held a longer sway, they are obtained from the graves.

Two very early English specimens are figured in the
"Pagan Saxondom:" one found at Gilton, in Kent, and
now in Mr. Eolfe's Museum the other found at Coombe,
;

in Kent, and preserved in the collection of Mr. Boreham.

The cross-piece in these examples has projected but little

beyond the edges of the blade. From specimens given

in our plates, and from the numerous representations of

Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, we see that the guard even-

tually became a much more prominent feature of the
Northern brand.
The third variety of the Anglo-Saxon sword, the seacc,
which Mr. Kemble q
defines to be "ensis quidam cur-

vatus," apparently that old Thracian weapon, the sica,

is

which among the Eomans was in such little repute, that

sicarins came to mean
a bandit, or an assassin. The
Anglo-Saxon curved sword never appears in their book-

paintings, and has not been found in their graves. But

in the Copenhagen Museum is a weapon which seems
exactly to answer this description of the Northern seax.
It is engraved in Mr. "Worsaae's " Illustrations of the
Copenhagen Museum," p. 97, fig. 384.
The handle of the earlier sword appears often to have
been a mere haft, like that of our knives ;
sometimes it

i "
Glossary to Beowulf."

D 2
.o() ANCIENT ARMOUR

had a pommel. The later sword-handle consisted of

grip, pommel, and cross-piece. The grip seems to have
been commonly of wood, and it is not unusual to find

portions of this wood

adhering to the tang of those
still

swords which have been recovered from the graves.

Part of such a found at Northfleet, in Kent, was
hilt,
submitted to the examination of Professor Lindley, and

pronounced to be pine. Mr. Worsaae is of opinion that

the Danish swords had the handle covered with "wood,

leather, bone, which, however, is now con-

or horn;
sumed "." 1
Mr. Wakeman tells us that some of the
Ancient-Irish iron swords "have been found with the
handle of bone remaining." Generally the cross-bar
was straight; but sometimes it curved towards the
blade ;
as in Cott. MSS., Tiberius, C. vi. fol. 9 ; Cleopatra,
C. viii., in many places ;
in that fine, sword found in the
river Witham, and preserved in the British Museum;
in the sword discovered in a tumulus in Lancashire (en-

graved in Archa3ol. Journal, vol. vi. p. 75) ; and in the

examples given in our plate of swords, figs. 9, 10, 11,
from Dr. Bahr's Livonian Collection. These cross-pieces
of metal were often, as well as the pommels, richly deco-
rated. The specimen from the "Witham, named above,
has both pommel and guard, which are of iron, inlaid
with gold and copper in a pattern of lozenges. The
most usual forms of the pommel were trefoil, cinquefoil,

hemispherical, round, and triangular. To some a little

ring was added, probably to attach a sword-knot ;

as in

the example already noticed from Gilton, and figured in

the "Pagan Saxondom." Of the other kinds named
above, the first four occur constantly in the miniatures of

r
Primeval Antiq. of Denmark, p. 49.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 37

Anglo-Saxon books, and it is difficult to understand on

what grounds the swords with foliated pommels, when
found in this country, are so generally assigned to the
Danes. The triangular pommel is more rare. In our
plate, fig. 7, we give an example in an ancient Norwegian
sword in the possession of Dr. Thurnum. It is entirely
of iron, measuring 3 feet, 1^ inches. sword of similar A
form is in Worsaae's "
engraved Copenhagen Museum,"
p. 97.
That the sword-hilts were occasionally of a costly
character, we have the concurring testimony of ancient
charters, poets, chroniclers, and of the graves. The
poetical Edda records that Gunnar, a regulus of Ger-
" Seven
many, replied to the messenger of Attila,
chests have I filled with swords; each of them has a
hilt of gold my weapon is exceedingly sharp ;
: bow my
is
worthy of the bench it graces my byrnies are golden
; ;

my helmet and white shield came from the hall of

Kiars 8 ." Kiars was a regulus of Gaul. In " Beowulf"
" Geat Prince "
(line 1338), the delivers into the keeping
of his servant "his ornamented sword, the costliest of
blades" (irena cyst). Again: "The son of Healfdene
gave to Beowulf a golden ensign, as the reward of vic-
tory a treasure with a twisted hilt, a helm and byrnie,
;

a mighty valued sword many beheld borne before the

warrior." (Line 2033.) At line 3228, we have "the hilt

variegated with treasure;" and afterwards (line 3373,)

we read of a " sword, the costliest of irons, with twisted
hilt, and variegated like a snake." In this passage,
both sword and simile are curiously illustrative of the
ornamental art of the Anglo-Saxons, of which so many

8
Atla-Quida, vol. ii.
p. 370.
38 ANCIENT ARMOUR

examples have come down to us. A document of the

early part of the tenth century, given in Mr. Thorpe's
" 1
Anglo-Saxon Laws ," distinguishing between the eorl
and the ceorl, declares, that if the latter " thrive so well,
that he have a helm and byrnie, and a sword orna-
mented with gold, if he have not five hides of land,
he is notwithstanding a ceorl." We have already seen
that Canute's huscarlas were armed "with axes, hal-
bards, and swords inlaid with gold." Eginhard tells us
that the belt of Charlemagne was " of gold or silver,
and the hilt of his sword was made of gold and precious
stones." And of the splendid galley fitted out by Earl
Godwin, as a present to Hardiknut, we are told that the
warriors had " swords whose hilts were of gold."
u
Among the heriots enumerated by Mr. Kemble that ,

of Eeorhtric, about 962, includes a sword worth eighty

mancuses of gold. And Duke JElfheah was possessor
of another of the same value. In the will of prince
-ZEthelstan, dated 1015, is named " a silver-hilted sword
which Woolfricke made." Guillaume de Jumieges and
Dudon de
S. Quentin tell us that Eichard the First,
duke of Normandy, rewarded the services of two knights
by presenting to each a sword whose hilt of gold weighed
four pounds, and a bracelet of gold of the same weight.
In illuminated manuscripts of this period, the mount-
ings of swords are generally coloured yellow, implying
probably a surface of gold, whether from thin plates
of that metal, or from gilding. In the Fausset Col-
lection is the bronze pommel of a sword, which has
been richly gilt. The mountings of another in the
British Museum are inlaid with gold. In Mr. Eolfe's
* u Saxons in England, 100.
Vol. i.
p. 186. ii.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 39

possession are examples both in gilded bronze and of

"
silver. In Denmark, hilts have been found partly
of silver, or inlaid with silver, or with gold chains
v
attached to them ." Other Danish swords were sur-
rounded with chains of gold, or covered with plates of
gold and silver and swords with handles entirely of
;

silver have been discovered*. Coloured beads appear

also

sometimes to have formed part of the decorations of the

Anglo-Saxon sword. Mr. Neville remarks, in his de-
" an
scription of the relics found at Wilbraham, that
immense blue-and-white perforated Bead accompanied
three out of the four swords, probably as an appendage
to the hilt or some part of the scabbard." On Plate
xxi. of his " Saxon Obsequies" he has figured two of
these beads : one is an inch and three-quarters in dia-
meter, the other an inch and a quarter. Occasionally,
runic or Latin inscriptions appear upon these weapons.
In " Beowulf" this usage is noticed:

" So was on the surface

of the bright gold
with runic letters

rightly marked
set and said,
for whom that sword,
the costliest of irons,
was first made." Line 3373.

Mr. Eolfe had the good fortune to become the possessor

"
of a sword-pommel thus rightly marked." It is of silver,
and was found at Ash-by-Sandwich. The runes occupy one
side only of thepommel, the other having zigzag and tri-
angular ornaments. This curious relic has been figured

T
Manual of the Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen.
x
Worsaae's Autiq. of Denmark.
40 ANCIENT ARMOUR

in the " "

Archaeological Album," Pagan Saxondom,"
and in Mr. "Wright's "
Celt, Eoman, and Saxon." Pro-
fessor Thomsen of Copenhagen informs the writer of these
pages that, in Denmark, swords of the latest pagan period
have been found, having runic inscriptions formed by
letters of iron let into the iron blade. In the Tower col-
lection may be seen a sword of somewhat later date, in
which also is exhibited this curious
practice, of inserting
letters of iron into an iron blade.
Among the swords
found in Ireland, attributed to the Scandinavian settlers
in that country, instances have occurred of
inscriptions
"in Latin letters 7 ." In the Northern Sagas, frequent
mention is made of the swords of their heroes being
marked with runes ;
and the evidences we have adduced
are of no small value in shewing the correctness of these
*

writings as regards the ordinary usages of the time.

A further distinction was conferred on the swords
of the great heroes of the North they were honoured
;

with particular names. In the Wilkina Saga we read

of " the sword called Gramr, which is the best of all

swords," with which Sigurdr slays the cunning smith,

Mimer and again, of the weapon named Naglhrmgr, ob-
;

tained for Dietrich of Bern, by the dwarf Alpris, (c. xvi.)

Vermund the Wise armed his son Uffe with the brand

Skrep) none other being proportioned to his strength.

That of Eolf Krage was called Skrofnung. In " Beowulf"
(canto xxi.), we have "the hilted knife named Hrunting"
" wses
}>am haeft-mece
Hrunting nama;"

whose " edge was iron stained with poisonous twigs,

7 Worsaae's " Danes in England."

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 41

hardened in gore." And in canto xxvi. of the same

poem we learn that
"
N&gling, old sword and gray of hue,
False in the fray, in splinters flew."

"
King Hacon the Good, Snorro girded round him
tells us,

his sword called Kuernbit" (millstone-biter). Thorolf, in

" armed
Egil's Saga, was with a sword named Lang, a
mickle weapon and good." In Magnus Barfot's Saga (cap.
" a most
xxvi.), the king wore sharp sword called Leggbitr,
the hilt of which was made of the tooth of the Eosmar
(walrus), and ornamented with gold." The sword Mi-
mung was no whit inferior to any of these. It was forged
by Weland, in a trial of skill with another celebrated

weapon-smith, Amilias by name. Weland first made a

sword with which he cut a thread of wool lying on the
water. But not content with this, he re-forged
O the blade, > 7

which then cut through the whole ball of floating wool.

Still dissatisfied, he again passed it through the
fire, and
at length produced so keen a weapon that it divided a

whole bundle of wool floating in water. Amilias, on his

part, forged a suit of armour so much to his own satis-
faction that, sittingdown on a stool, he bade Weland try
his weapon upon him. Weland obeyed, and there being
no apparent effect, asked Amilias if he felt any particular
sensation. Amilias said he felt as though cold water had
passed through his bowels. Weland then bade him
shake himself. On doing so, the effect of the blow was
2
apparent he fell dead in two pieces
: .

z
For a fuller account of this trans- the Edda Ssemundar, and the Wilkina
action, and of other notable deeds of our Saga (c. 21, sq.); also Grimm's Helden-
hero-smith, see the Volundar Quida of sage, p. 14, and Teut. Mythol., 221.
42 ANCIKNT AK..MOI I;

The skilful wcuponer was always a person of lii^li con-

sideration in these days. Tliis is curiousl y shewn in I he
l;i\v of Klhelbcrf which eiiacls (hat u if one man slay
another, he is to ]>!iy
his \vcri;\ Id : hut not, so, if tin- sla yer

happen (o he Ihe king's weapon-smith or his messenger;

he p:iy only a moderated wei'^yld
in Ili:it c;ise, is f.o of ;i

Inmdrcd shillings"."
We have already noticed the curious custom of Inn y-

ili;;-
Ihe Spe;i|--he;id ill llic siinie VJIS(^ willi Ilir hones of Hie

An^lo-Siixon warrior. An mmln^nus practice hasheen oh-

sei-ve<l in I )eiiinai-lv ;
wlicrclhe swoi'd ol'llir hero, hroken
into several piec<-s, is
placed over Ihe inonMi of Ihe urn.
An example of this kind of inlernieiil is engraved in
u M nseiiin, 1 '

WnrsMMr's (
'openhai;vn |. '.)S.
Occasionally
Ihe iron sword, having been soHened by ihe lire, was belli,

mid in this stale deposited in Ihe i;'rave. Tlio Abbe

kl
remarks: nsa;;e des sabres ploycs an fen
(

( 'ochel. ( el.

el eiilerrcs avec les inorls csl Ires-rare che/ nous: il

s'esl miroiilrc <

i

n A lleina^ne., en Danemark, el en Suisse,

on I\1.de l>onslcMen en a vu un ;.;rand noinbi'e, en !S,'|,
{

dans les scpnll ur<\s <le 'riefenau, pres HtM'iH

1
. ( c savant

ujonlr (pie celle conhmir, plus barbar*' (pie roinaiiH-, pen

connne (hs Ih'lvi-lrs, elail 1
rcs-freipienle die/ les peuplcs
Hcmidinnves. il exisle, dil-il, an mnsec de S<-hwri-in

])lusi(Mii'S glaives en for (pie Ton croil pro\ cnir des Yendes,
el (pii out etc routes dans le leu (>1 ('iisuib' ploycs. Haehr
si^'iiale le incnie fail dans les lombes (T Asch(M Jid(Mi %
cl de
Sc-cvoldV
Thr Sh(>alhs of Ihe swords were commonly of wood
covered with leather, as wo learn from the graves ;
and

*
Kemble'i " BUXOM in I u i.m.i. p. 2SO. b Normandi* Soutfrraitu, p. 44.
 AND WMAI'ONS IN Ml IIOI'K. 48

they wore sometimes mounted in bronze. Figure 2 of

our ft HI HI Plate shews ;m example from Wilbraham, in
i

which the locket ,'111(1

chape are of bron/e Mild (he, Li- ;

vonian sword, Plato v. fig. 10, has an ornamented bronze

chape. In the British Museum is an An^Io-Saxou blade,

found in a t;Tave al Hal lie Kdi;v, Oxfordshire, which re-

lains Ihe bron/e eliapo and locket of its scabbard. Those

ill inenls were, soineliines <;'ilt,
or even of <^old. Mr. Wor-
u 1'rimeval An( of
saae, in his i<|iiii Denmark," pa^e 50,
ies

has figured the i^old locket of a sword-sheath, adorned

with Ihe winding pattern so eharaeierisiie, of this period.
Wood and I ea her
I were the ordinary materials used in
the Danish scabbards. Of the sheaths formed of these

snhstanees, wliieh ha\o been partially preserved to our

times, the most curious example is that (inured by Mr.
1 5at email in vol. vii. of the Journal of the ArchwologicalAs-
sociat ion. was found in a barrow in Derbyshire, and is
1 1

const rneted of thin wood overlaid with leather, the surface

of the hitter heinjj; covered with a pattern of alternate
tillctsand lo/cnj^es. A scabbard found at Strood, in Knit,
was formed externally of a substance resembling shagreen.
Dr. riihr, in Die
Grdler der Liven, Plate xv., has on-
i; raved a da^vi -shoath, which is entirely of bronze, from
Aschoradon 5
and in the Ablildungen von Mainzer Altlicr-

lliinnt'ni for 1ST):?, is another bron/e da^er-slieath, con-

an iron dagger, which was found near Troves.
tain in 14;

Several are in the British Museum. Mr. lloach Smith

has another, found in the Thames all of them proba- ;

bly belonging to the period under consideration. There

is also a curious type of sword-scabbard, formed en-

tiidy of bronze, which further observation may pro-

bably show to be of Northern make. The example
 ANCIENT ARMOUR

here engraved was found on a moor near

Flasby, in Yorkshire it contains the

;

blade of an iron sword. Several similar

ones have been discovered. One dug up
at Stanwick has been presented by the

Duke of Northumberland to the British

Museum. Another is engraved in Dr.
Wilson's " Annals of found
Scotland,"
near Edinburgh. A fourth, from the
bed of the Isis, is figured in the Ar-
chaeological Journal, vol. x. p. 259. The
Earl Londesborough has another,
of

dredged from the Thames, which differs

from the rest in having been ornamented
with enamelled studs. This is engraved
in vol. iii. of the Collectanea Antigua. See
also the Danish example, figured in Wor-
saae's
"
Copenhagen Museum," p. 66. All
these bronze scabbards have contained
iron blades.
The Sword-Belts appear to have been
usually girt round the waist ;
the buckles
and tongues of them having often been
found in the graves. These fitments are

generally of bronze, sometimes of copper ;

and the metal is not unfrequently gilt,
or embossed, or enamelled. Some buckles
in the Faussett collection, found in Kent,
are set with garnets. The belt was oc-

casionally worn across the body, sus-

pended from the right shoulder ;

as in
the fine figure in Cotton MS., Tiberius,
No. 6.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 45

C. vi. fol. 9. Our woodcut, No. 17, furnishes an ex-

ample of the belt girt round the waist, from an illu-

mination in Add. MS., No. 18,043.

The AXE, as we have seen, was a characteristic weapon
of the Northern nations. It is not unfrequently found

in the graves of these people on the Continent, but in

Anglo-Saxon interments it is of the extremest rarity.

In the Wilbraham excavations, a hundred graves yielded
only two axes. In the Fairford researches, not one was
found in a hundred and twenty graves; and in the

many Kentish barrows examined by the Earl of Londes-

borough in 1841, not a single specimen was obtained.

The axe appears to have been of three principal forms :

the " taper axe," the broad axe, and the double-axe, or

bipennis. flihe pole-axe and the adze-axe were varieties

of these. The battle-axe was also called francisca, from
the favour with which it was regarded by the Franks.
Isidorus (lib. xviii. us of " Secures quas
c. 8.) tells

Hispani ab usu Francorum per derivationem franciscas

vocant."

Examples of the Anglo-Saxon taper-axe, from the

Ozingell Cemetery, are given in figures 1 and 2 of our
Plate. Figures 3 and found in Ireland, fig. 6, from
4,
Selzen in Germany, and fig. 9, from Livonia, closely resem-
ble the Kentish ones. Fig. 8, from Livonia, differs chiefly
in having a prolongation at the back. Specimens of the
taper-axe found in France are given in Plates vn., ix., and
xi. of La Normandie and Danish examples
Souterraine ;
"
occur at pages 68 and 96 of Worsaae's Copenhagen
Museum." Some of the axe-heads dug up in Denmark ex-
hibit a very curious transitional construction ;
the blade

being of copper edged with iron. Another axe in the

46 ANCIENT AKMOUR [PLATE VII.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 47

Copenhagen Museum, "of the very earliest times of the

iron period," is inscribed with runes. The axe found in

the tomb of Childeric of the "taper" form already de-
is

scribed ;
it is represented in Plate n. of Daniel's Milice
Franqoise. We have already, by the passages from Si-
donius and Procopius, seen how the sons of Odin com-
menced their attack by hurling their axes at the foe. A
curious illustration of this practice of throwing the axe is
afforded by a charter of Canute, granting to the monks
of Christ Church, Canterbury, the port-dues of Sandwich,
"from Pepernesse to Mearcesfleote, as far as a taper-axe
can be thrown on the shore from a vessel afloat at high
water :" J'pa peojin ppa maej an tapeji-a&x beon jepojipen ufc

oj: ftam scipe up on ftaet lanb.

Figure 10 of our Plate, from Livonia, offers a variety

from the axe already described, in having an angle in its
under line. A similar contour is found in examples dis-
covered in Normandy, and figured on Plate vu. of the
Abbe Cochet's work. The broad-axe is seen in our
figures 5 and 7; the
from Selzen, the other from
first

Livonia. Compare the Frankish specimen engraved at

page 233 of La Normandie Souterraine. Others have
been found in England.
The
single-axe used by the Anglo-Saxons in battle
does not seem to have differed in form from those em-

ployed in woodcraft as may be seen by referring to the

;

Calendar contained in Cotton MS., Julius, A. vi., faith-

fully copied in Shaw's " Dresses and Decorations." In-

deed, it is probable that the blade which had felled an

oak was often called upon to strike down an enemy.

c
Boys' Hist, of Sandwich. The charter is
given in Mr. Keinble's Codex Diplom.
Mm Sax., iv. 23.
48 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Manuscripts -dofrequently give pictures of the

not

battle-axe; but examples occur in Cott. MS., Cleop., C.

viii., and in the Anglo-Saxon
Benedictional of the Li-

brary of Eouen.
The double-axe is of still more rare occurrence in
book-paintings. It appears in two places in Harleian
MS., No. 603, but this is a work not earlier than the
close of the eleventh century. In the graves, the bi-

pennis has never been found at all; neither is it seen

in the hands of the Anglo-Saxons in the Bayeux Tapes-

try, But the bipennis of the true classical form, that

if

is, having two vertical blades, has not hitherto

been
seen among the varied contents of the Northmen's

graves, a very singular variety of this implement has

been discovered among the, tombs of the Yalley of the
Eaulne. kind of adze-axe, the one blade being
It is a

vertical, the other horizontal. It was found by the

Abbe Cochet in the cemetery of Parfondeval, and has
been engraved in his work, p. 306, and in the Arch&o-
logia, vol. xxxv., p. 229. The adze form of one of the
blades would seem to indicate rather an artificer's tool
than a warrior's weapon, and the Abbe tells us that the
peasants have still such an implement, which they call
their Usaigue (p. 307). We may remember, however,
that an authority for the military use of the horizontal
blade exists in the effigy at Malvern d .

The Pole-axe is the almost universal form of this arm

in the Bayeux tapestry. Not only the Saxon soldiery,
but Harold, and even Duke William himself, are armed
with this fearful weapon. Indeed, for a force of in-

d
Stothard, PL xix.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 49

fantry, as the English were, contending against cavalry,

no other kind of axe could have been of much service.
"Wace, whose minute descriptions, wearisome enough to
the general reader, are invaluable to the archaeologist,
has not lost sight of the long-handled axes of the
islanders. He has even given us the particular dimen-
" ki fa d'acier :"
sion of the head,
" un Engleiz vint acorant :

Hache noresche 6 out mult bele,

Plus de plain pie out 1' alemele f .

* * *
la coignie

K' il aveit sus el col leve"e,

Ki mult esteit lone enhansteez"
Horn, de Rou, ii. 225.

And again, line 13536 :

"Un Engleiz od une coignie,

Ke il aveit,
lungue emmanchie,
L' a si feru parmi li dos

Ke toz li fet croissir les os."

The same Master Wace has recorded his objection to

the Northern axe ; that, requiring both hands to wield it,

the weapon cannot be used effectively with the shield :

" Hoem ki od hache volt ferir,

Od sez dous mainz estuet tenir h 1' .

Ne pot entendre a sei covrir,

S'il velt ferir de grant air 1
.

Bien ferir e covrir ensemble,

Ke pot Ten faire, 90 me semble."
Eom. de Eou, ii. 262.

The handle of the Axe was of wood, traces of which

have been observed in the relics obtained from the graves.

f
Northern. blade. long-handled.
h From
must hold it.
*
ira.
50 ANCIENT AKMOUR

In a single instance, it has been found of iron. This

example occurred at Lede, in Belgium, and has been de-

scribed by M. Eigollot in the Memoir es de la Societe des

Antiquaires de Picardie, vol. x.

The Guisarme is a weapon frequently mentioned by
our early chroniclers ;
and poets but, though it is some-
times made to be identical with the pole-axe, at others it
is
distinguished from that arm. "Wace tells us it was
" and broad
sharp, long, :"

" E vos avez lances agues,

E granz gisarmes esmolues." Rom. deRou, 1. 12907.

" Dous
Engleiz vit mult orguillos :

# * # # # # #
En lor cols aveient levees
Dui gisarmes lunges e leesV Ib., 1. 13431.

The Statute of Arms of King William of Scotland (1165

" Et
1214) enacts :
qui minus habet
quam XL. solidos,
habeat Gysarm, quod dicitur Hand-axe .' From another 1 7

Scottish ordinance we learn that the hand-axe was a

long-handled weapon. The Provost of Edinburgh in

1552 directs: " Because of the greit slauchteris done
in tyme bygane within the burgh, and apperendlie to be

k The passage which has furnished order. These two English guisarmiers
these lines is further curious, as it would enter the field of Hastings under a si-
seeni to shew that the Fraternitas Ar- milar compact to triumph or fall to-
morum was not confined to the knightly gether :

" Dous
Engleiz vit inult orguillos,
Ki s' esteient acumpaignie
For 50 ke bien erent preisie.
Ensemble debveient aler :

Li uns debveit Taltre garder:

En lor cols aveient levees

Dui gisarmes lunges e lees."

1
Cap. 23. sect. 4.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 51

done, gif na remeid be provydit thairto ; that ilk manner

of persone, occupyaris of buthis or chalmeris in the hie-
m
gait, thatthey have lang valpynnis thairin, sic as hand-
n
ex, Jedburgh staif, hawart jawalyng and siclyk lang ,

valpynnis, with knaipschawis and jakkis and that they

*

cum thairwith to the hie-gait incontinent efter the com-

moun bell rynging p ."
Knives of various sizes are constantly found in the
Northern graves. The smaller were evidently for do-

mestic purposes, for they are discovered in female inter-

ments as well as in those of the other sex. But the
larger kind appear to have been used as daggers. They
have been more frequently observed in the continental
tombs than in those of our island; and, as they very
rarely appear in the pictures of the Anglo-Saxons, we
may conclude that they formed no necessary part of the

equipment of these warriors. A

fine example of this

weapon is given on our ninth Plate (fig. 1,) from the

Ozingell Cemetery. It is sixteen inches in length, of

iron, and is provided with a cross-piece. In the following

group from the Anglo-Saxon and Latin Psalter of the
Due de Berri, in the Paris Li-

brary, the spearman's adver-

sary appears to be employing 1

s-
exactly such an instrument
as> the example from the
Kentish grave q Figure 2 in
. NO. 8.

our Plate is a two-edged dagger of iron from the Faussett

m vol. 3 from the Borough Records.

weapons. ii.
p. ;

n
javelin.
i We are indebted to Mr. Westwood
iron headpieces. for this curious drawing.
* Wilson's "Memorials of Edinburgh,"

E
ANCIENT ARMOUR [PLATE IX.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 53*

collection. was found near Ash-by- Sandwich, and

It

measures ten inches in the blade. Figures 3 and 4 are

Ancient Irish. The first is the ordinary type of this
weapon, of which many have been found. The second is
remarkable from the retention of its handle, which is of

wood, and ornamented with carving. Both these are

from Mr. Wakeman's paper on Irish Antiquities in vol.
iii. of the Figures 5 and 6 are
Collectanea Antigua.
German examples, from the Selzen graves. The first is
very remarkable from the ring at the extremity of the
tang. In Denmark, daggers have been found of a tran-
sitional period, the bulk of the blade being of
bronze,
edged on both sides with iron. Other Danish examples
are given in Mr. Worsaae's "Copenhagen Museum,"
pages
66 and 97. In Dr. Bahr's explorations in Livonia, a
dagger of iron was discovered with its bronze sheath.
(See Die Graber der Liven, Plate xv.) Gregory of Tours,
in the sixth century, mentions in several places that the
Frankish soldiers carried large knives at their belts;
and there seems no reason to doubt that the examples
from the graves are the very "cultri validi" of the
historian. Of these Frankish war-knives, several spe-
cimens are figured in the Normandie Sout ermine. They

closely resemble those found in Germany, Switzerland,

Denmark, and England. The handles appear to have
been of wood. One of the Frankish examples still had
8
portions of the wooden haft remaining . Other speci-
mens of the Northern cultelli will be found collected on
Plate LVIII. of the second volume of the Collectanea Anti-

qua. Some of these

weapons appear to have been inlaid
with copper or other metal ; for which purpose one or

*
Abb6 Cochet, p. 23?.
'54 ANCIENT ARMOUR

more incised lines are formed near the back of the blade.
An Anglo-Saxon knife found in excavations in the city
of London, and engraved (fig. 3.) in the Plate of the Col-
lectanea Antiqua already noticed, still retains the bronze

inlaying in the channels of its blade.

A curious variety of the war-knife is in the collection
of Mr. Eoach Smith, of which the single edge is straight,
or nearly so, and the point formed by a diagonal cut at
the back of the blade. It is believed, in its perfect

state, to have measured upwards of thirty inches is of ;

steel ;
and has on both sides a double line of the chanel-
ling already noticed*. A weapon of similar form appears

among the Livonian antiquities now in the British Mu-

seum, and is represented on Plate xix. of Dr. Bahr's
Gr'dber der Liven.

The LONG-BOW was another weapon of this era. Aga-

thias, indeed, has told us that the Pranks used neither
bow nor sling. But arrows are expressly mentioned in
the Salic Law and, to reconcile these conflicting testi-
;

monies, it has been suggested that the archery of the

Salic Law is that of the chase alone. Poisoned arrows,

however, are here named, and the hunter does not ply
" Si
his art with poisoned shafts. quis alterum de sa-
u
gitta toxicata percutere Further on, a
voluerit ," &c.
him who shall deprive another of his
fine is fixed for

"second finger, with which he directs his arrow:"

secundum digitum, quo sagittatur. At a later period,
the bow is
especially commanded as a part of the sol-
dier's
equipment. One of the capitularies of Charle-

magne directs "that the Count be careful to have

*
Figured in Collect. Antiq., ii. 245, logue of Mr. Roach Smith's Museum,
and at p. 101 of the Illustrated Cata- u Titulo de
Vulneribus, n. 2.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 55

his contingent fully furnished for the field ;

that they

have lance, shield, a bow with two strings and twelve

arrows," &c. According to the testimony of Henry

of Huntingdon, William the Conqueror reproached the

English with their want of this weapon. The Bayeux

tapestry, however, seems to authorize
the belief that they
were not entirely without it. (See the first group of
th
Anglo-Saxons in Stothard's xiv plate.) The proba- .

bility seems to be that, while the Normans employed

archers in large bodies, the English merely interspersed
them in small numbers among their men-at-arms. The
bow, at all events, was in use among the Anglo-Saxons :

it is frequently represented in manuscript illumina-

tions, and arrow-heads have been found in the graves.

Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 in our Plate are from Kentish in-

terments. The firsttwo form part of the Fausset collec-
tion ;
the others, figured in the Nenia Britannica, were
found on Chatham Lines. The whole are of iron. Pic-

torialexamples of the Anglo-Saxon bow, arrows, and

quiver may be seen in Cotton MSS., Cleop., C. viii.,
Claudius, B. iv., Tiberius, C. vi., and in the fine Pruden-
tius of the Tenison Library. See also Strutt's Horda,
vol. i.
plate xvn. Arrow-heads of iron have also been
found in France, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and
Livonia. Figures 5 and 6 of our Plate are examples from
the cemetery at Selzen in Ehenish Hesse ; figs. 7 and 8
from Livonian graves. With the latter was also found
x
part of a quiver. The Abbe Cochet has engraved and
described specimens found in France, and M. Troy on
notices Swiss examples in his paper in the Archceologia,
vol. xxxv., and Plate xvn. Compare also Archaeological

*
Normandie Soiderraine, pp. 285, 351, 385.
56 ANCIENT ARMOUR [PLATE X.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 57

Journal, vol. iii.

pp. 119, 120. In the Suabian graves at
Oberflacht, bows also were found. See Archceologia, vol.
xxxvi. the figures of the ivory carving forming
Among
the cover of the " Prayer-book of Charles the Bald" are
two each holding a leash of barbed arrows ;
archers,
the arrows very clearly represented. This curious sculp-
th
ture, illustrating the lvii .
Psalm, (a favourite subject with
the middle-age artists,) has been carefully engraved in
the sixth volume of the Revue ArcMologique. The origi-
nal is in the Imperial Library at Paris.
These were the usual weapons of the Northern na-
tions: these are seen in their pictures, are named in
their laws, are described in their Sagas, are found in their

graves. But other arms appear to have been of occa-

sionalemployment: the mace, the pike, the sling, the
"
stone-hammer, the morning-star," the fork, and the bill.
The Mace seen in the hands of the Anglo-Saxons (as
is

well as of the Normans) in the Bayeux tapestry and it ;

seems not unlikely that those dentated hoops of bronze 7

which have been found both in England and on the Con-
tinent were the heads of similar weapons; for it must
not be forgotten that, even in the " Iron Period," objects
of bronze continued in use. From the inexhaustible
"Wace we learn that the "vilains des viles" who joined
Harold's army,
" Tels armes
portent com ils trovent :

Machues portent e granz pels 1 ,

Torches ferrees a e tinels V Line 12840.

It will be remembered that the mace a weapon of

is

the most remote antiquity, and is found, almost identical

y See ArchfEol. Journal, vol. vi. p. 181; and Wilson's "Archeology of Scotland,"
z a b
p. 393. pikes. forks. batons.
58 ANCIENT ARMOUR

in form with those of the Northern nations, among the

monuments of the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians.
The Stone-Hammer appears to have been employed by
" Jac-
the troops of Harold. "William of Poictiers says:
tant cuspides ac diversorum generum tela, saevissimas

quasque secures, et lignis imposita saxa*." Of the Bill,

an example occurs in the fine Anglo-Saxon Benedictional
of Eouen : it closely resembles the common long-handled
hedging-bill of our own day. The Morning-star, an in-
strument formed of a ball of metal (sometimes spiked)
attached by a chain to a short staff, after the manner of a
whip, is believed to have been another of the arms of
this period. Dr. Bahr found the head of one of these in
his Livonian researches ;
a complete one, of bronze, (here

engraved) was discover-

ed at Mitau. Professor
Thomsen mentions also a

bronze specimen, in his

account of the Copen-

hagen Museum. The

Sling, according to the
opinion of the Pere Daniel,
was employed by the
Franks in intrenched po-
sitions and beleaguered
d
towns . This ancient in-
NO. n.
strument, which is found
6 f
in Egyptian and Assyrian monuments, was certainly
in use among the Anglo-Saxons, whether for warfare

c
Ap. Duchesne, p. 201. p. 357, ed. 1854.
d
Mil. Fran., i. 7. f
See Layard's Nineveh, p. 332, ed.
e
See Wilkinson's Egyptians, vol. i. 1852.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 59

or the chase alone, it is not easy to determine. The

figure here engraved is that of

David, from the Anglo-Saxon and J3k

Latin Psalter of Boulogne. See
also the slinger in Strutt's
Horda,
Plate xvii., from Cotton MS.,
Claudius, B. iv., and Plate in.
of Stothard's Bayeux Tapestry.
In the Copenhagen Museum are
" either with a
sling-stones,

groove cut round the middle, or

with two grooves cut cross-wise ; NO 12 .

having, in the latter case, the shape of a ball somewhat

flattened." It does not appear that the Northern nations

used leaden pellets as the Greeks and Eomans did, in-

;

scribing them with a thunderbolt, or some quaint sen-

" Take
tence, as this."

It will have been observed, from several passages al-

ready cited, that the use of poisoned weapons is imputed

to the Northern tribes of this period. In " Beowulf,"
and elsewhere, we read of poisoned swords, poisoned

arrows, and poisoned daggers; and, however rare may

have been the employment of such terrible ministers, it
does not seem permitted us to deny altogether their
existence. The famous sword of Beowulf,
"
Hrunting nama,"

had itsedge "stained with poisonous twigs." This,

indeed, is the evidence of a poet but the Salic Law,
:

as we have of " toxicatse g ." And

seen, speaks sagittse
of Tours tells us, of
"
Gregory Fredegonda :
Fredegundis

Ante: page 54.

60 ANCIENT ARMOUR

duos cultros ferreos fieri prsecipit,

quos etiam caraxari
profundius et veneno infici jusserat, scilicet si mortalis

adsultus vitales non dissolveret fibras vel ipsa veneni in-

fectiovitam possit velocius extorquereV And again,
the same writer speaks of these poisoned daggers, or
scramasaxi: " Cum cultris validis quos vulgo scramasaxos
1

vocant, infectis veneno, utraque latera ei feriunt ."

Let us now examine, as far as we are enabled to do so,
what was the Teutonic warrior's defensive equipment.
The structure of the Body-armour can only be inferred
from indirect evidences; for the vague terms of the

No. 13.

h Hist. Franc., 1
lib. viii. c. 29. Ibid., lib. iv. c. 46.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 61

writers, such as lorica and byrnie, and the rudely con-

ventional forms of the painters, who indicated a tree by
a cluster of three or four leaves, and a coat-of-fence
by a
few circles penned on the parchment or punched on the
bronze, afford us little help in determining with exact-
ness how the armour-smith achieved his task. It is cu-
rious that the best testimony we obtain is that of the

poets. A simile or an epithet lets in more light than all

the limners and all the historians. It seems clear that
in the earlier days of Northern rule, none but leaders
wore body-armour ; but, as years rolled on, and prosperity
increased, the subaltern ranks affected this distinction.
As we have already shewn (page 38), the Ceorl vied with
the Eorl in the richness and completeness of his
equip-
ment ;
and under the rule of Charlemagne, the
at length,

troops of the Count, as we have seen, are all required to

have defensive armour " Omnis homo de duodecim
:

mansis, bruniam habeat." Those who had not this

amount of land, clubbed together and furnished amongst
them the panoply in which one of their number went
forth to the host. "Was this lyrnie of interlinked chain-
mail ? The Anglo-Saxon poem of " Beowulf" may throw
some light on the question :

" The
war-byrnie shone, hard (and) hand-locked (heard hond-loceri) ;
the bright ring-iron sang in their trappings when they proceeded to go
forward to the hall, in their terrible armour." Canto i. line 640.
" Beowulf
prepared himself, the warrior in his weeds, he cared not
for life : the war-byrnie, twisted with hands (hondum ge-broden), wide
and variegated with colours, was now to try the deep," &c.
Canto xxi. line 2882.

In Canto we " the

xxii. have, war-dress, the locked
battle-shirt." " On his shoulder lay the twisted
62 ANCIENT ARMOUR

breast-net (Ireost-net broderi) which protected his life

against point and edge." . . . "his war-byrnie, his hard

battle-net (here-net hearde)"
" the twisted
If there meaning in words, surely
is
"
breast-?^," the "hard battle-^," the locked battle-
" "
shirt," the byrnie tivisted with hands," the war-byrnie,
hard and hand-locked" can mean nothing but the hauberk
of interlinked chain-mail ;
that garment which, we have so
often been told, some unknown time, from
came to us at

some unknown people, dwelling in some unknown region

of the East. If this fabric, which, for brevity, we will call

chain-mail, came from the East, where are the eastern

monuments that exhibit it ? It is not seen in Egyptian,

Assyrian, nor Indian sculptures or paintings; and the

triumph-scenes of these nations represent in great diver-
sity the numerous tribes of Asia. The same origin has
been given to Cannon ;
but every one who has made any
research in this direction knows that the Oriental deri-
vation of this engine has not the smallest foundation in
k
fact . In the Yolsunga Saga, a work of the eleventh
century, we read that "Sigurd's sides so swelled with
rage that the rings of his byrnie were burst asunder ;"
which could scarcely have happened (adds Yon Leber,
who notices this passage,) with a garment made of rings

sewn contiguously 1
. The well-known enigma of Bishop

Aldhelm, written in the eleventh century, so curiously

k
See the able work of M. Reinaud ! " Und so schwollen Sigurds Seiten,
and Captain Fave, Du Feu Gregeois,fyc.; dass seine Panzerringe entzweispran-
and M. Lacabane's paper in the Biblio. genj" welches Entzweispringen doch von
de I'jEcole des Chartes, Second Series, nebeneinander gehefteten Ringen nicht
vol. i.; and the ^Etudes sitr I'Artillerie, fiiglich gesagt werden konnte. Wien's
by the Emperor of the French. Jcaiserliches Zeugkaus.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 63

illustrates our inquiry, that we shall be pardoned for re-

printing it. It is headed " De Lorica :"

" Koscida me
genuit gelido de viscere tellus :

Non sum setigero lanarum vellere facta:

Licia nulla trahunt, nee garrula fila resultant :

Nee crocea seres texunt lanugine vermes :

Kec radiis carpor, duro nee pectine pulsor :

Et tamen, en, vestis vulgi sermone vocabor.

Spicula non vereor longis exempta pharetris."

Roy. MS., 15, A. xvi.

A lorica formed
of metal, without the aid of any tex-
ture of wool or of silk, could scarcely be anything else
than a coat of chain-mail. "We may further refer to
the Bayeux tapestry (Stothard, Plate xvi.), where the

pillards are appropriating the armour of the slain. The

second border of that plate is stripping
last figure in the

the hauberk over the head of a fallen warrior ; and, in

thus turning it inside out, discloses the interior of the

garment, which exhibits the ring-work exactly in the

same manner as it is seen on the outside of others. At
a later period, a similar evidence is afforded by the sculp-
tured monumental effigies ; the overlapping folds of the
hauberk shewing the ring-work on the inside as well as
on the outside. Figures of the thirteenth century in the
Temple Church and in St. Saviour's Church, London,
offer illustrations of this fact. Further instances may be
found at Stowe-Nine-Churches in Northamptonshire, and
at Aston, Warwickshire ; and probably no English county

iswithout similar examples. Compare also the curious

fragment of chain-mail found at Stanwick, Yorkshire, and
now deposited in the British Museum.
The defence made of iron rings, of which Yarro at-

tributes the invention to the Gauls, appears to be no

 ANCIENT ARMOUR

other than the hauberk of chain-mail :

" Lorica a
loris,

quod de corio crudo pectoralia faciebant, postea succu-

derunt Galli e ferro sub id vocabulum, ex annulis, fer-
ream tunicam." "Whoever may have been the inventors
of this armour, the probability seems to be that it came
into use gradually : from its costliness and
rarity, leaders

only could at first obtain it; that, as handicraft im-

proved, and the efficiency of the defence became ac-

knowledged, adoption was extended, and its cost-
its

liness diminished. The notion, that in the thirteenth

century the hauberk of chain-mail came suddenly and
generally into use, is against all known precedent, and
contrary to the natural course of human inventions.
Other kinds of body-armour were worn at this time.
Charlemagne, as we have seen, was defended by a kind
of jazerant-work. Ingulphus tells us that Harold, find-
ing the heavy armour of his troops an incumbrance in
theirmountain warfare with the Welsh, clothed them
in a defence of leather only. Some-
thing similar is seen in this figure
from Cotton MS., Cleop., C. viii.
The coat here seems to be of hide,
with the fur upon it a dress still
left ;

in use among some of the Cossack

soldiers of Eussia. Wace appears
to describe this garment, where, re-

counting the death of Duke Guil-

laume Longue-Espee by the traitorous
Fauces, he says :

No. 14.

"Fauces leva 1'espee ke soz sez peaux porta,

Tel Ten dona en chief ke tot 1' escervela." Ron, i. 138.

Armour of padded- work, a defence of a very high

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 65

antiquity, and of a very wide adoption, was also pro-

bably in vogue and also coats covered with scale-work
; ;

but these are difficult to be identified in the monuments

of the time. The hauberks of the Anglo-Saxons at the
battle of Hastings are remarked to have been both short
and small :

" Corz haubers

orent e petis,
E helmes de sor lor vestis." Wace.

In Anglo-Saxon illuminations, a very large majority of

the fighting men appear to
have no defensive armour at
all but the helmet and shield ;

as in this example from a MS.

of Prudentius, of the eleventh

century, in the Tenison Li-

brary. The leg-bands seen on
these figures, and on many
others of the same period,
were in common use among
the soldiery. It is a fashion
of which we find an early ex-

ample in the calceus patricius

of the Eomans, and a remnant
in the chequered hose of the
Scottish Highlanders. Those of
the Anglo-Saxons were gene-

rallywound round the leg, and

then turned down and fastened
below the knee. Sometimes
they were, tied in front; as
may be seen in the Ethelwold NO. 15.

Benedictional ;
and compare Stothard's Bayeux Tapestry,
66 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Plate iv. Henry of Huntingdon, who wrote in the begin-

ning of the twelfth century, gives us incidentally the full

arming of a warrior of the eleventh. When Sigeward,
duke of Northumberland, found death approaching him,
not on the field of battle, but in the peaceful chamber,
he exclaimed " me mori
: Quantus pudor tot in bellis
non potuisse, ut vaccarum niorti cum dedecore reser-
varer. Induite me saltern lorica mea impenetrabili,

prgecingite gladio, sublimate galea: scutum in Iseva,

securim auratam mihi ponite in dextra, ut militum for-
tissimus modo militis moriar. Dixerat et ut dixerat, :

armatus honorifice exhalavit."

No. 16.

In an age when missiles were much in use ; javelins,

arrows, and the stones of the mangona and of the
slinger the soldier would naturally employ his first care
;

to the arming of his head. Consequently we find in

the monuments of this period that, even when the body

appears to have no defensive covering, the head is care-

fully protected by the helmet.

In the beginning, even the helmet was rare among

m Lib. vl.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 67

the Teutonic tribes. Tacitus tells us, of the ancient

Germans " Faucis:

loricse, vix uni alteriye cassis aut

galea." And
Agathias in the seventh century men-
tions that few of the Franks had helmets. Leaders,
however, wore them. Dagobert, in a contest with the
Saxons, received a blow which, dividing his casque,
n
carried away a part of his hair . And when his father,
Clotaire II., came to his relief, this latter prince placed

himself on the bank of the Veser, announcing his arrival

to the Saxon leader by taking off his helmet and dis-

playing his long locks In the time of Charlemagne,

.

as we have seen from his capitularies, the count is re-

quired to furnish troops who are provided with helmets.

The fashion of these headpieces we learn from various

vellum-paintings of a little

later date. We find them

to have been hemispherical,
conical, of the
Phrygian form,
combed, and crested: some-
times of a complicated make,
with a sort of crocketed ridge P;
sometimes terminating in a
kind of fleur-de-lis q The .

figure here given from Add.

MS., 18,043, a Fsalter of the
tenth century, affords a good

example of the combed helmet.

The personage represented is NO. 17.

Goliath; and necessary to add, in order to

it may be
understand the girding of the sword, that the warrior

n Gesta Regum Franc., cap. 41. See the Tenison Prudentius.

Ibid. See Strutt, "Dress and Hab.," PI. xxix.
68 ANCIENT ARMOUR

presents his back to us. In lieu of the combed crest,

the figure of a boar, sacred to the god Freya, was often

placed on the helmets of the pagan Teutons a practice ;

which at length became so general, that the word eofor

(boar) was poetically used for the casque itself. Thus,

in " Beowulf:" "He commanded them to bring in the

boar, an ornament to the head, the helm lofty in warj"

" eofor
heafod-segn
'

heaj>o-steapne helm," &c. Line 4299.

Again: "The white helm covered the hood of mail,....

surrounded with lordly chains, even as in days of yore
the weapon-smith had wrought it, had wondrously fur-
nished it, had set it round with the shapes of swine,
that never after brand nor war-knife might have power
to bite it." (1. 2895.)
Here we see the particular object of this device : it

was to act as a holy charm. In Canto 15, the boar

seems also to be implied; and in this instance it is
"fastened to the helm with wires." "About the crest
of the helm, the defence of the head, it held an amulet
fastened without with wires, that the sword, hardened
with scouring, might not violently injure him when the
shield-bearing warrior should go against his foes." Taci-
tus, in the Germama, has a passage curiously illustrating
this superstition. The ^Estii, he says, " Matrem Deum
venerantur: insigne superstition is, formas aprorum ges-
tant. Id pro armis omnique tutela, securum Deee cul-
torem etiam inter hostes praestat." Mr. Bateman, in
opening a barrow in Derbyshire, was fortunate enough
to meet with one of these Northern helms surmounted

with the boar crest. The casque ismade of iron and

horn, with silver-headed rivets. The hog is of iron,
 AND WEAPONS IN EUKOPE. 69

having eyes of bronze. See Mr. Bateman's " Antiquities

of Derbyshire" for a more full account of this curious
r
relic .The practice of adorning the helmet with a crest
is of a very high antiquity, and is first observed among
the Asiatics. The Shairetana, first enemies, then allies,
of the Egyptian Pharaohs, " wore a helmet ornamented
with horns, and frequently surmounted by a crest, con-
sisting of a ball raised upon a small shaft, which is re-

markable from being the earliest instance of a crest*."

In the Assyrian monuments, the crested helmet is of
frequent occurrence the form of the crest being gene-
;

rally that of a fan, or of a curved horn, or a kind of

crescent, with its cusps turned downwards. See Layard's

" Mneveh and Bemains," for examples of all these.
its

In addition to the "white" (or polished) helmet named

in a former extract from "Beowulf," we have, at line

5,226, a "brown-coloured" one, (brun-fagne helm). This

may have been of leather,
of iron bearing the stain of

years, or even of bronze. On

several occasions, relics of
bronze have been disinterred
which have every appearance
of being the framework of hel-
mets. These metal frames
forthey occur of iron as well
as of bronze are presumed
to have been fixed over a No. 18.
The example
cap of leather.
here engraved was found in 1844, on the skull of a

r *
It is engraved in vol. ii. of Collec- Wilkinson's "Ancient Egyptians,"
tanea Antiqua. p. 287, ed. 1837 ; vol. i. p. 338, ed. 1854.
 70 ANCIENT ARMOUR

skeletonexhumed on Leckhampton Hill, near Chelten-

ham. The material is bronze, but worked very thin. At
the summit is a ring, and on one side appears a portion
of the chain which seems to have fastened it beneath
the chin. The ring may have served to attach a tufted

ornament, or a grelot. A
Livonian headpiece, engraved
on Plate v. of Dr. Bahr's work, has a boss at the summit
exactly similar to this, but with the addition of a grelot
fixed to the ring. The bronze fragments found by Sir

Henry Dryden in
grave a at
Souldern, Oxfordshire,
appear to have formed part of a helmet like that before
us*. The example of iron, already noticed, discovered

by Mr. Bateman, is also of framework, though somewhat

differing in pattern from the Leckhampton relic. An-
other iron framework helmet, of the thirteenth century,
was found in an old fort in the Isle of Negropont, and
is figured by Hefner in Plate LXIII. of his Trachten.

Compare also Plate xxxiv., Part ii.,

of the same book u .

The secretum engraved in vol. vii. of the Archaeological

Journal, page 305, is of analogous character: as are

also the so-called Spider Helmets, and the
" skulls for

hats;" examples of which may be seen in the Tower

Armories. But the most curious illustration of the pur-
pose of the bronze relic represented in our woodcut, is
the helmet proposed for the Eoyal Artillery in 1854. The
metal framing of this Was identical in arrangement with
the ancient defence consisting of a hoop encircling the
;

head and two semicircular bands, crossing each other at

the crown, and surmounted by a metal knob. The metal
in this case was brass, and it did not greatly differ in

1
See Archaeol. Journ., vol. iii. p. 352. ters. There is also a French version of
u Trachten des chnstlichen Mittelal- this admirable work.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 71

substance from the ancient bronze. The cap beneath

was of felt. In Anglo-Saxon illuminations, it is not un-
usual to see headpieces in which bands of gold-colour
traverse a ground of different hue; and it seems not

improbable that these examples may represent the kind

of helmet under consideration. Similar banded casques
occur in theBayeux tapestry, in the pictures of the
Painted Chamber at Westminster, and in other monu-
ments. See also Archseol. Journ., vol. xii. p. 9.
The bronze helmet has also been discovered in Scot-

land. Dr. Wilson tells us that " part of a rudely-adorned

helmet of bronze was found in ArgyleshireV Another
bronze headpiece is preserved in the Copenhagen Mu-

seum, and Professor Thomsen mentions similar ones,

" overlaid
with gold." (Manual.)
A mentioned by Wace as being
helmet of wood is

worn by one of the Anglo-Saxon combatants at the

battle of Hastings :

" Un helme aveit tot fait defust,

Ke colpy el chief ne receust.
A sez dras z 1' aveit atachie,
Et envirun son col lacie."

A Norman knight attacked him :

" Sor li helme 1'

Engleiz feri,

, De suz les oils a li abati,

Sor li viare b li
pendi,
E Engleiz sa main tendi,
li

Li helme voleit c suz lever,

E son viaire delivrer ;

E a un colp done,
cil li

E sa hache a terre chai d ."

In book-illuminations of this period the helmet is fre-

quently coloured yellow, which may either signify bronze

* y '
Archaeology of Scotland, p. 266. coup. draps.
8 b c d tomba.
yeux. visage. voulait.
72 ANCIENT ARMOUR

or gilding. A crown is sometimes added, not in the

case of kings but of distinguished personages
alone,
generally. One of the crowned figures in our woodcut,
No. 13, represents the patriarch Abraham. The nasal
appears to have been given to the helmet, about the end
of the tenth century of which an early example is fur-
:

nished in the figure of a warrior in Cotton MS., Tibe-

work of this period. By the middle
rius, C. vi. fol. 9, a
of the next century, its adoption has become general, and
in the Bayeux Tapestry it is worn equally by Norman
and Saxon.
To asoldiery with whom body-armour appears to have
been a secondary consideration, the SHIELD would be of
the first consequence. "We find, therefore, the Northern
warrior seldom unaccompanied by this useful defence.
Leader and retainer, horseman and foot-soldier, all are
equipped with the target. form was usually round,
Its

though in the pictures, being seen in profile, it often has

the appearance of an oval. And, as the plump-cheeked
houris of the East were called " moon-faced damsels," so
the round targets of the Teutons were named by the poets

"moony shields." They were convex, and in the centre

was a boss of metal, generally terminating in a but-
ton or in a spike, but sometimes without either. The

spiked shield was no doubt used as an offensive arm.

The buttons are sometimes plated with silver, or tinned,
as are the heads of the rivets remaining in the edge of
the umbo. Across the hollow of the boss was fixed a
handle of wood covered with iron ;
and by this handle

the shield was held at arm's length, the hand entering

the hollow of the boss see woodcut, No. 13.
: In the
Wilbraham Cemetery was found the umbo of a shield to
PLATE XIX.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE, 73
74 ANCIENT ARMOUR

which the handle was still attached by its rivets.

(See
fig. 10 of our xxth plate.) The shield was sometimes
strengthened with strips of iron fixed across the inside ;
these strips being prolongations of the handle just de-
scribed. Such a shield-handle was found at Envermeu
by the Abbe Cochet, and is figured on Plate xvi. of his
work. In this example the handle has a single strip on
each running towards the edge of the shield.
side,"
A
similar one was found in a Merovingian cemetery near

Troyes. In a Frankish grave at Londinieres was disco-

vered a variety of this type, in which the strips proceed-

ing from the handle were three on each side, radiating

towards the rim. This very curious example is engraved
in the Normandie Souterraine, Plate vui. Others were
found in the recent excavations in the Isle of Wight.
The body of the shield was usually of wood the lime ;

" Beowulf 6
having a marked preference. Thus, in ," the
heroic "Wiglaf " seized his shield, the yellow linden-
wood" (geolwe linde). And a spell preserved in Harl.

MS., 585, f.
186, has :

"
Stod under linde
under leohfcum scylde :"

"I stood under my linden shield, beneath my light

shield." In the Anglo-Saxon poem of
" Judith :"
" The
warriors marched :

the chieftains to the war,

protected with targets,

with arched linden shields."
{
(hwealfum lindum .)
In a fragment on the battle of Maldon ;

"Leofsunu spake
and lifted his linden shield."

(and Ms linde

f *
Line 5215. Thorpe's Analecta, p. 137. Ibid., p. 128.
PLATE XX.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE, 75
76 . ANCIENT ARMOUR

And the Saxon Chronicle tells us, in recounting the de-

feat of Anlaf in 937, how King Athelstan and his heroes
" the board-walls
clove :

and hewed the war-lindens."

Leather was sometimes used in the construction of

shields, as we learn from the Laws of JEthelstan, which
forbid the employment of sheepskins for this purpose
under a penalty of thirty shillings. In an example
from the cemetery at Linton Heath, Cambridgeshire, the
leather covering seemed to have been stretched over the
iron umbo wooden surface of the
as well as over the

shield
1
. The edge was protected by a rim of metal.
Portions of these rims have been found in the graves,
both in England and on the continent ; and as they
present segments of circles, become of use in deter-
mining the shape of the shields themselves. In the
Museum of Schwerin is an example of the metal rim
which is complete: it is circular, and the central boss
is also present.
The oval shield appears in a few examples only. One
was found among the graves explored at Oberflacht,

in Suabia ;
another is figured by Silvestre, (vol. i.

pi.CXLIV.) from a Longobardic miniature of the eleventh

century; and a third occurs in the Bayeux Tapestry,
Plate xvi. The surface of the Northern shields was
painted in various fanciful devices, sometimes height-
ened with gilding. And, as Christianity was embraced
by the various Northern tribes, the cross became a fre-
quent decoration. The encomiast of Queen Emma, in
" Erant
describing the fleet of Canute the Great, says :

1
Archaeol. Journ., vol. xi. p. 98.
 AND WKAPONS IN ETTROPE. 77

ibi scutorum tot genera, ut crederis adesse omnium po-

pulorum agmina. jubar immiscerit
Si quando sol illis

radiorum, hinc resplenduit fulgor armorum, illinc vero

flamma dependentium scutorumV
Among nothing of a heraldic
the devices, there is

character, and even as late as the time of the Bayeux

Tapestry, as Stothard has well remarked, "we do not
find any particular or distinguished person twice bear-
ing the same device ."
1

In the accompanying figure from Cotton MS., Cleopatra,

C. viii., we observe that the

Anglo-Saxon horseman car-

ried his shield, when not in

use, slung at his back. The

knights of the fourteenth

century carried their helmets

in the same manner, as may
be seen in the fine manu-
script of the Roman du Roi L
Meliadus, Additional MSS., NO. 21.

12,228. Besides the ordinary Northern shields, we some-

times find them represented of so large a size as to cover
the whole person. In Harleian MS. 2,908, fol. 53, are
two such, but perhaps mere exaggerations of the draughts-
man. Shields of this kind were, however, certainly in
use in the East at an early date, and may be seen in
m
Egyptian, Assyrian, and Indian monuments .

k
Ap. Du Chesne, p. 168. century of our era, a fine copy of which
1
Archseologia, vol. xix.; and Memoirs, has been placed in the Museum of the

p. 298. East India House. The Chinese still use

m " a large round shield of cane-wicker, be-
Compare Wilkinson's Egyptians,"
" Monuments
i. 349, ed. 1854
; Layard's hind which they crouch so as to conceal
of Nineveh," Plate LXXII.J and the wall- themselves entirely from the view of the

painting of the Ajunta Caves, of the first enemy.

78 ANCIENT ARMOUR

been conjectured that the bronze coatings of

It has
shields which have from time to time been discovered in
this country, and commonly attributed to the Ancient

Britons, may belong to the Anglo-Saxon period: while

we admit this probability, we must not forget that they
have not yet been found in the Anglo-Saxon graves.
The shields placed in the graves were the ordinary "lin-
dens," of which no part commonly remains but the metal
boss and handle. The chief varieties of forms offered by
the bosses will be found in our Plates xix. and xx., figs.
n
1 to 10; all from English tombs Similar relics have
.

been dug up in Scotland of which No. 1 1 in our Plate

;

offers an example. This was procured from a tomb in the

county of Moray, accompanied with fragments of oak and

remains of the hero's horse and its bridle. See Dr. "Wil-
"
son's Archaeology of Scotland," to which we are indebted
for this specimen. On the continent similar objects have
been found, differing but slightly from our own examples.
No. 1 2 is from the cemetery at Selzen, in Ehenish Hesse.
No. 1 3 is from a Danish tomb. See also the examples given
in "Worsaae's Copenhagen Museum, p. 68. The shields
of the Danes appear to have been ornamented with gold
and colours, the favourite hue being red. In Ssemund's
poetical "Edda" we read of a "red shield with a golden

border," and Giraldus de Barri tells us that the Irish

" carried red
shields, in imitation of the Danes." Some
of the Danish shields, like the weapons, were inscribed
with runes . In the tumulus opened at Caenby, in Lin-
colnshire, believed to have been that of a Danish viking,

part of a wooden shield was procured, ornamented with

n See Description of Engravings, for the particular localities where they were
discovered. Copenhagen Manual.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 79

plates of silver and bronze, bearing the serpentine and

scroll patterns so characteristic of this period. These
fragments are engraved in the seventh volume of the

Archaeological Journal.
The g uige or strap by which the target was occasionally
suspended from the combatant's neck, leaving the hands
free to direct the steed or ply theweapon, appears (at
least during the later days of Saxon rule) to have been
in use among our countrymen, as well as with their Nor-
man neighbours. Of Harold's nobles, Wace tells us :

"
Chescun out son haubert vestu,
Espee ceinte, el col Vescu." Rom. de Rou, ii. 213.

And in the Bayeux Tapestry, the kite-shield thus fixed

may be seen on the English side.

The place occupied by the shield in the graves of the
Prankish, Germanic, and Scandinavian heroes is by no
means uniform. been found on the breast, on the
It has

right arm, upon the knees, and beneath the head. It is

by the position of the umbo in the grave that this fact

has been exactly ascertained. Examples will be found
in the Ozingell Cemetery, in the explorations at Harn-
ham Hill {Arckaologia, vol. xxxv.), in the Selzen find,
in the Normandie Souterraine, and in the account of
the cemetery at Linton Heath (Archaeol. Journ., vol. xi.

p. 108).
The HORSE FURNITURE of the Northern cavalry appears
to have been usually very simple. By referring to our
engravings, Nos. 16 and 21, it will be seen that the
saddle was provided with girth, breastplate, and crupper,
the latter being fixed to the sides of the saddle pendent :

ornaments are attached to the bridle, breastplate, and

" Beowulf" we learn that the
crupper. From the poem of
80 ANCIENT ARMOUR

war-horse was occasionally furnished with much cost-

liness :

"
Then did the Eefuge of warriors command eight horses, orna-
mented on the cheek, to be brought into the palace .... on one :

of which stood a saddle variegated with work, made valuable with

treasure: that was the war-seat of a lofty king when the son of
Healfdene would perform the game of swords." Canto 15.

A donation of the Anglo-Saxon king Ethelbert affords

another example " Missurum etiam
:
argenteum, scapton
aureum, item sellam cum freno aureo gemmis exornatam,
speculum argenteum, armilaisia oloserica, camisiam orna-
tam prsedicto monasterio gratantei obtuli ."
p

As was an occasional practice to bury the horse of

it

the hero in the same grave with his master, the metal

portions of the fitments have been preserved to our time.

Examples of stirrups may be seen in the Annaler for
Nor disk Oldkyndighed, in Worsaae's Copenhagen Museum,
and in Die Graber der Liven these are of a single : all

piece, having a loop for the attachment of the leather.

The bits are of two kinds, snaf-
fles with rings at the sides, and
snaffles with long cheeks. The
example here given is from a
Kentish barrow opened by the No - 22 -

Earl of Londesborough. A
similar one is in the Livonian
collection of the British Museum.
Compare also the York
volume of the Archaeological
page 29 ; Wor- Institute,
saae's
Copenhagen Museum, pp. 70, 95 and 96; and
M. Troyon's paper in the
Archceologia^ vol. xxxv. p. 396,
and Plate xvm. The snaffle with cheeks was found
among the Wilbraham relics q , and occurs also in the

P Monast. Aug., i
vol. i.
p. 24. Saxon Obsequies, Plate XXXYIII.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 81

Selzen Cemetery 1 . A very curious variety, in which the

snaffle is of iron,while the cheeks are of bronze richly

foliated, was discovered

in an old fort at Lough Tea, in

Ireland, and is engraved in the third volume of the

Archaeological Journal. In a tumulus opened in Den-
mark were found the remains of a bridle which had
been covered with thin plates of silver.

A
good example of the Anglo-Saxon Saddle, seen
without the rider, occurs in Cotton MS., Claudius, B. iv. ;
which has been engraved by Strutt in the Horda. See
also our cut from Cleopatra, C. viii. (page 7*7) where the

breastplate, crupper, and single girth are very clearly

made out.
The Spur of this period consisted of a single goad,
sometimes of a lozenge form, sometimes a plain spike.
The shanks were straight. The following illustration of

the lozenge goad is from the bronze

monument of Eudolf von Schwaben,
in the Cathedral of Merseburg, a
work of the eleventh century
8
. A
very similar example, dug up in rail-
way excavations near Nottingham,
has lately been added to the Tower
collection. This is of iron. Compare NO. 23.

the Swiss engraved by M. Troy on in vol.

specimen
xxxv. of the Archaologia, Plate xvn. This also has a
lozenge goad, but the neck of the spur is much longer.
A Livonian example in the British Museum has the goad
in the form of a plain quadrangular spike. The conical

spike is seen among the Danish relics figured on pages 70

r
Todtenlager lei Selzen, p. 6.
*
Heftier; TracUen des christlichen Mittelalters, Pt. I.

G
82 ANCIENT ARMOUR

and 95 of Mr. Worsaae's " Copenhagen Museum." A very

curious variety was found in the excavations of the Anglo-
Saxon cemetery at Linton Heath, and is figured in the
eleventh volume of the Archaeological Journal. The
buckles in this specimen, instead of being attached to
the strap, form part of the spur itself; being contrived
at the ends of the shanks.

Among the many curious usages revealed by the ex-

amination of the ancient tombs, not the least singular is
the practice of burying the equestrian warrior with a

single spur. This fact has been noticed, not alone among
the pagan Northmen, but as late as the thirteenth cen-

tury; and it does not rest on the doubtful evidence of

careless observers, but has been vouched by the testimony
of skilful and practised archaeologists. It has been fur-
ther remarked that the spur, in all such cases, is attached
to the left heel. M. Troyon, in his excavations in the
Colline de Chavannes, Canton de Yaud*, found three

spurs, all of different sizes, which he therefore concludes

" ont
appartenu chacun a des cavaliers differents." At
Bel- Air, near Lausanne, this gentleman found an inter-
ment where a single spur had been fixed to the left heel
of the entombed warrior. And in a note to his interest-

ing memoir on the exploration of the Colline de Cha-

" J'ai retrouve
vannes, he says :
quelquefois des eperons
dans des tombes antiques, mais le mort n'en portait
jamais qu'un seul, qui etait fixe au pied gauche." The
similar instance which has been noticed in an interment
of the thirteenth century is that recorded in the fourth
volume of the Archaeological Journal, page 59. knight A

*
Described in Archceologia, vol. xxxv.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 83

of the Brougham family, found buried in the chancel of

the church at Brougham, in Westmoreland, had a single
iron spur " round the left heel." "JS"o spur was found

upon the right This knight presented the further

heel."
11

singularity of having been buried cross-legged .

However highly his steed might be prized by the

Northern warrior, it was not alone in feats of horseman-
ship he was required to excel.
that The youthful
Grymr, in the old poem of "Karl and Grymr," "as he
grew up, was accustomed to make his sword ruddy in
the warlike play of shields; to climb the mountains;
to wrestle; to play well the game of chess; to study
the science of the stars; to throw the stone; and to

practise such other sports as were held in estimation."

Olaff Trygvason, according to an old Norwegian
chroniclequoted by Pontoppidan, "could climb the
rock of Smalserhorn, and fix his shield on the top ;
he could walk round the outside of a boat upon the
oars, while the men were rowing; he could play with
three throwing them into the air alternately,
darts,
and always keeping two of them up he was ambi- :

dexter, and could cast two darts at once with equal

force ;
and he was so famous a bowman that none could
equal him." At a little later date, Kali, an earl of
the Orkneys, boasts of his acquirements "I know," :

u For much curious information "

re- pendix to Kemble's trans, of Beowulf;"
lating to the practice of interring with Wilson's Archa3ol. of Scotland, pp. 457
the hero his horse, chariot, hawks, hounds, and 552 ; Worsaae's Antiq. of Denmark,
&c., and the discovery of their remains in p.100 ; Bahr's Die Graber der Liven,
the graves, see Archceologia, vol. xxxiii.; pi. xvi. Compare also Tacitus, Ger-
the York volume of the Archseolog.Instit., mania, x. ; Caesar, Sell. Gall., lib. vi.;

p. 28; Saxon Obsequies, pi. xxxvui.; and Wilkinson's Anc. Egypt., vol. ii. pp.
Archaeol. Journal, vol. vii. p. 43 ; Kemble's 270 and 399, ed. 1854.
Saxons in England, vol. i. p. 428 ; Ap-

G a
84 ANCIENT ARMOUR

says lie, "nine several arts. I am skilful at the game

of chess, I can engrave runic letters, I am expert at

my book, I can handle the tools of the smith, I can

traverse the snow on wooden skates, I excel in shooting
with the bow, I ply the oar with address, I can sing to
the harp, and I compose verses V
In the tenth century, Eichard, duke of Normandy
" sout en Daneiz, en Normant* parler :

Une chartre sout lire, e li parz deviser :

Li pere Tout bien fet duire e doutriner.

De tables e d'eschez sout compaignon mater :

Eien sout paistre^ un oisel e livrer e porter :

En bois sout cointement e berser z e vener.

As talevas a se sout bien couvrir e moler b ,
Mestre pie destre avant e entre d'els dobler:
Talons sout remuer e retraire e noxer,
Saillir deverz senestre e treget c tost geter:
C' est un colp damageux ki ne s' en seit garder,
Mais Pen ne lungement demorer."
s'i deit

Roman de Rou, vol. i. p. 126.

Of the STANDARDS in use at this period, the notices

that have reached us are neither numerous nor clear. In
Asser's "Life of King Alfred" we read, that the Christian
English gained a signal victory over the pagan Danes in
Devon, slaying their king, and capturing "among other
things, the standard called Eaven; and they say that
the three sisters of Hingwar and Hubba, daughters of
d
Lodobroch, wove that flag and got it ready in one day .

v
OrJcneyinga Saga. born ladies of the ninth century with
x
That is, in the Romance language. another fair standard-weaver somewhat
y feed. nearer our own times. Katherine of Ar-
1
use the long-bow. ragon, writing to Wolsey, when the king
a
shield. was campaigning in France, says :
"I am
b
contend. horridly busy with making standards,
c
sh'ng. banners, and badges."
d
It is curious to compare these high-
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 85

They say, moreover, that in every battle, wherever that

flag went before them, if they were to gain the victory,
a live crow would appear flying on the middle of the

flag ;
but if they were doomed to be defeated, it would
hang down And
this was often proved to
motionless.
be so.'
(Sub
7
The Danish chronicles and
an. 878.)

sagas, however, make no mention of this Eaven standard.

Mr. Worsaae (" Danes in England") gives the engraving
of a coin of Anlaf, on which he recognises the national

device, and finds it again in that figure of a bird on one

of the flags of the Bayeux tapestry; "for it is very
natural," he says, "that the Scandinavian vikings, or Nor-
mans, who had achieved such famous conquests under
Odin's Eaven, should continue to preserve this sign," &c.
Ancient evidences are not agreed as to the Anglo-
Saxon standard used at the battle of Hastings. Wil-
liam of Poitiers describes it as "memorabile vexillum
Heraldi, hominis armati imaginem intextam habens ex
auro purissimo." Malmesbury follows him: "vexillum
quod erat in hominis pugnantis figura, auro et lapi-
dibus arte sumptuosa contextum."
In the Bayeux tapestry this design does not appear,
but the old Dragon Standard, derived by the Northern
nations from the Eomans. And it will be observed that
the dragon of Harold is not a picture painted on a flag ;

but, like the Eoman draco, a figure fixed by the head to

a staff, with its body and tail floating away into the air.

Compare the representations on the Trajan and Antonine

columns, and in the Bayeux tapestry. The dragon is
found also. among the continental Saxons. Of Witikind
we are told " Hie :
arripiens Signum, quod apud eo ha-
bebatur sacrum, leonis atque draconis et desuper aquila3
86 ANCIENT ARMOUR

volantis insignitum effigie ," &c.

6
And this device of a

dragon appears to have been in use till at length dis-

placed by the more exact distinctions of hereditary

heraldry.
The well-known custom mentioned by Plot, of the in-
habitants of Burford, in Oxfordshire, carrying the figure
of a dragon yearly "up and down the town in great

Jollity, to which they added the Picture of a Giant," in

memory of a victory over Ethelbald, king of Mercia, in

which this prince lost his "Banner, whereon was de-
picted a Golden Dragon ;" seems entitled to greater con-
sideration than most of the customs of old times. The
Dragon Standard of the Anglo-Saxons is a fact substan-
tiatedby many monuments and the portraying a van-
;

quished enemy under the lineaments of a hideous giant,

is a practice which has had the sanction of all times and

all nations.
A very curious kind
of flag occurs in the Anglo-Saxon

manuscript of Prudentius in the Tenison Library. It is

suspended from a horizontal bar near the spear-head,
after the manner of a sail looped up to its yard, and
from the side hangs a kind of fringe. It decreases be-

low, presenting altogether a triangular form, and seems

to be the same object as that figured by Mr. Worsaae,

from a coin of Anlaf, in his "Danes in England."

The celebrated Carrocio or Car Standard of the Italians
appears to have been invented during the war between
the Milanese and the Emperor Conrad, about 1035, by

Heribert, the archbishop of Milan. This car had four

wheels, and was drawn by four yoke of oxen, capari-

soned in red. The chariot itself was red: in the

e
Gestor. Sax., lib. i.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 87

midst of was a tall red mast, surmounted by a

it

golden globe, and bearing the banner of the city:

beneath the banner was a large crucifix, of which
"the extended arms appeared to bless the troops." A
kind of platform in front of the carrociiim was occu-
pied by a company of chosen heroes, elected for its espe-
cialdefence; while, on a similar platform behind, the
trumpets of the army contributed by their inspiriting
strains to give confidence to all around. Before leaving
the city, mass was solemnised upon the platform of the

chariot, and not unfrequently a chaplain was assigned to

accompany it into the field of battle, and to give abso-

lution to the wounded. This device of the Milanese

was soon imitated by others of the Italian cities, and
with all it was held to be in the last degree humiliating
f
to abandon the carrocio to the enemy Other origins .

have, however, been given to the Car Standard. It has

been attributed to the Saracens ; and the monk Egidius

ascribes its invention to the Duke of Louvain, who caused
the banner which had been embroidered by the Queen
of England to be placed in a superb chariot drawn by
four oxen. The Italians have a large balance of evidence
on their side.

Of the various kinds of "GYNS" in use, the notices

are not very distinct. And
a chief source of the vague-
ness arises from the circumstance that, as the earliest
chroniclers wrote in Latin, they applied the names of
Roman engines to instruments which probably differed
both in form and principle from their ancient prototypes.

1
Arnulphus Mediol., 1. ii. c. 16 ; Ri- Mediolanens., torn. vi. ; Hist, Rer. Ital.
cordano Malespina, Hist. Fior., cap. 164 ; p. 917.
Burchardus, Epistola de excidio urbis
88 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Tacitus, indeed, tells us that the barbarians borrowed

these engines from those of the Eomans; deserters or

prisoners from whose ranks taught to the Northmen the

art of their construction. But there seems good reason
to believe that the motive principle of the classic periers,

torsion, was no longer in use among the middle-age

engineers : their instruments consisting of a lever fur-
nished at one extremity with a sling and at the other
with a heavy weight ; the sudden liberation of the latter
contributing the force necessary to propel the stone from
the sling. See this subject fully discussed in the second
volume of the Etudes sur V Artillerie of the Emperor of
the French; and compare the evidences furnished by
monuments of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, given
in later pages of this work.
In 585, we learn from Gregory of Tours, that the Bat-
tering Earn and the Testudo were employed by the Bur-
g
gundians in the siege of Comminges . This Tortoise, or
screen for the propellers of the Earn, is described by the
translator of Yegecius in 1408 under the name of the
" h "
Snayle or Welke :" For, righte as the snaile hath
his hous over hym where he walkethe or resteth, and oute
of his hous he shetethe his hede whan he wolle, and
draweth inne a-yene, so doth this gynne."
hym In the
ninth century we obtain considerable light on this sub-

ject from the curious description of the Siege of Paris,

written in Latin verse by Abbo, a monk of St. Germain-

des-Prez, who was an

eye-witness of the events he re-
cords. He names the Musculus and the Pluteus, both
of which were contrivances to shelter the besiegers while
at work ;
the Balista and Mangana, machines for casting

h
* Lib. vii. c. 37. Roy. MS. 18, A. xii., f. 105.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 89

large stones ;
the Catapulta, which cast both stones and

darts; the Terebra, a spiked beam for boring into the

walls ; and the Falarica, a gyn throwing darts to which

burning substances were affixed; a terrible instrument

in those days, when the roofs of houses were almost in-

variably covered with thatch.

The Moveable Towers formed of wood, in imitation of
those of the Eomans, and placed by the walls of city or
castle in order to bring the assailants to a level with the

defenders, are first mentioned in medieval annals under

the eleventh century ; but they play no conspicuous part
in the military history of these days till the succeeding

century, when their employment appears to have been

frequent. In 1025, Eudes, comte de Chartres, is said to
have used the Moveable Tower in besieging the Castle of
Montbrol, near Tours ; and so high was it,
that it over-
1
topped the keep -tower of the fortress .

In the east of Europe, the Greek Fire had been known

as early as the year 673 ; when, according to the his-
torians of the Lower Empire, Callinicus, the
philosopher,
taught the use of it to the Greeks. He himself had pro-
bably derived the knowledge of this composition from the
Arabians; though powder acting by detonation (and
for,

consequently cannon) appears to have been first produced

in Europe, and that not earlier than the beginning of the
fourteenth century, the Asiatics had the use of powder
that would fuse at a very early date. The Greek Fire
was discharged from tubes, which could be turned in any
direction. The Princess Anna Comnena, in the Alexiad,
describes its use, as it was employed by the Emperor
Alexis against the Pisans, from tubes fixed at the prow

Ap. Labbamm
1
in Chronolog., lib. ii. ; Daniel, Mil. Fran., i. 557.
90 ANCIENT ARMOUR.
" were astonished to
of his vessels :
They (the Pisans)
see fire, which by nature ascends, directed against
its

them, at the will of their enemy, downwards and on each

side." The receipt for the composition of the Greek Fire

may be found in the Treatise of Marcus Grecus. The

terrors of these early fire-mixtures were enhanced by the
belief that not only they, but the flames kindled by
" de
them, were inextinguishable by water: quibus fit
incendarium quod ab aqua non extinguitur The Greek V
Eire did not, however, reach the west of Europe till a
much later period. It was objected against its use, that
such an agent was contrary to the spirit of religion and
the nobleness of chivalry: it was felt that a weapon
which could be used alike by the weak and the strong,
by the humble and the powerful, might become a dan-
gerous rival to the knightly lance and panoply.

k Reinaud et Fave : Du feu gregeois, &c., p. 218.

24.
 ANCIENT ARMOUR. [PLATE XXV.

GREAT SEAL OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.

 PAET II.

FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND TO THE END OF

THE TWELFTH CENTURY.

FOR the period now to be examined, namely, from about

the year 1066 to the close of the twelfth century, our
chief evidences are still the illuminations of manuscripts,
the writings of chroniclers and poets, tapestry-pictures,

ivory carvings and metal chasings. The valuable testi-

monies of the graves are lost to us ;
but a new source of
information is opened to our inquiries in the royal and
baronial seals, which from the second half of the eleventh
century appear in great abundance wherever the feudal
system is in vogue. Among these various evidences,
there are two which, for our particular purpose, are espe-

cially valuable, the Bayeux tapestry and the Chronicle

of Eobert Wace. There seems to be no reasonable doubt
of this tapestry having been embroidered at the close of
the eleventh century; and whoever has carefully ex-
amined it, will be at once convinced that it was wrought,
not by courtly ladies, but by the ruder hands of the

ordinary tapestry-workers. Curious analogy is found in

a
the decorations of subsellce of a somewhat later date .

a The events depicted in the Bayeux 602. This paper has been reprinted by

tapestry have been carefully identified M. Thierry among the Pieces justifica-
and described by M. Lancelot in the fives of his Conquete de V Angleterre,
Memoires de I'Acad. des Inscrip., viii. vol. i.
94 ANCIENT ARMOUR

The especial value of the Chronicle of the Dukes of Nor-

mandy is in the minuteness with which Wace delights

to describe the incidents of knightly achievement.
Taking
his crude facts from William of Jumieges and Dudo of
St. Quentin, he fills up their outlines with unwearying

elaboration. Not content with drily noting the gathering

of a host or the issue of an onslaught, he tells us how
the levies came into the camp "by twos, and by threes,
and by fours, and by fives, 77 and with what weapons they
contended, the material of their staves, and the length
and breadth of their blades. He himself, lived so near
the time of which he writes, and the changes in the in-
terval were so few, that his descriptions have, in most

instances, the exactness of those of an eye-witness. The

incidents of Duke William 7
s Conquest of England he
learns from the lips of his own father, who lived pro-

bably in the eleventh century :

" o'i dire a mon

jo pere :

Eien in' en sovint, maiz varlet ere."

Roman de Sou, 1. 11564.

We must however, keep in view that Wace, like all

still,

writers and illuminators of the middle-ages, does not

hesitate to fill
up his pictures from the scenes around
him ;
so that, while concede him a large measure of
we
authority, especially for the events near his own time,
we must on some occasions withhold our confidence,
when his testimony is not in accordance with evidence

which is strictly cotemporary.

With the feudal system was introduced a scheme of

military rank which was altogether distinct from social

position. Esquire, knight, and banneret had no necessary
connection with prince, baron, or private person. The
 AND WEAPONS IN EUEOPE. 95

heir of a crown might be but an esquire ;

a fortunate
soldier often became a knight. The esquire was the
aspirant to knightly honours, and patiently served his
apprenticeship to arms in the court of his prince or
the hall of some neighbouring baron. At the age of
twenty-one he was eligible to knighthood : he became, if

he had property enough to support the dignity, a knight-

bachelor :
" s'il a bien de quoi maintenir Festat de che-
valerie ;
car aultrement ne lui est honneur, et vault
mieulx estre bon escuyer que ung poure chevalier b ." In
the field, the knight's contingent was led under a Pen-

non, a flag that differed from the square Banner of the

banneret in being pointed at the fly. The dignity of
the Knight Banneret required a retinue of at least fifty
men-at-arms with their followers, so that it could only be

enjoyed by the rich. The chronicles of the middle-ages

are full of examples in which the knight who has dis-
tinguished himself on the field of battle declines this
dignity on the plea of inadequate funds. When accepted,
the Pennon of the knight was often at once converted on
the spot into a Banner ; as in the instance recorded by
Olivierde la Marche " Si bailla le Eoi d' Armes la
:
(de
Toison d'Or) un couteau au Due (de Bourgogne), et prit

lepennon en ses mains, et le bon Due, sans oster le gan-

telet de la main senestre, fit un tour autour de sa main
de laqueue du pennon, et de Fautre main coupa le-
dit pennon et demeura quarre; et la Banniere faite ."
Froissart offers several similar instances.
The feudal Levy was conducted on the very simple
principle, that they who held the land should defend the
b Antoine de la Sale, cited by St. Palaye, Anc. Chevalerie, i. 118.
c
Liv. vi. c. 25.
96 ANCIENT ARMOUR

land, and contribute to the king's army in proportion to

the extent of their holdings. Those who could not serve
in person, as clerics and ladies, were bound to furnish
substitutes. The various contingents due from the vas-
sals were carefully recorded in rolls and in the Milice ;

Francaise of Pere Daniel is preserved a curious note of

such a roll, of the time of Philippe Auguste, in which
the contributors to the host are arranged in the following
order archbishops, bishops, abbots, dukes, earls, barons,
:

castellans, vavassors, and knights d

knights-banneret, .

The usual time of service at this period was forty days :

any further attendance was voluntary, and was probably

much dependent on the prospect of booty.
That knight and esquire were not necessarily of gentle
blood, might be proved by numerous ancient evidences :

one or two may suffice. Matthew Paris, under the year

1250, us that the king " gave a charter of the
tells

liberty of warren in the land of Saint Alban's to a certain

knight named Geoffry, although not descended from
noble or knightly ancestors." This knight had obtained
the privilege "from having married the sister of the

king's clerk, John Maunsell." The "lady's name was

Clarissa, and she was the daughter of a country priest,
but exalted herself in her pride above her station, to the
derision of all." Froissart, in the fourteenth century,

gives us the history of Jacques le Gris, the bosom-friend

of the Earl of Alenon, "
qui n'etoit pas de trop haute
affaire, mais un ecuyer de basse lignee qui s'etoit avance,
ainsi que fortune en avance plusieurs et quand ils sont ;

tous eleves et ils cuident etre au

plus sur, fortune les

d
Vol. i.
p. 70. See other Rolls of an early date in the Traite du San of the
Sieur de la Rogue.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 97

retourne en la boue et les met plus bas que elle ne les a

eus de commencement 6 ."
In numerous exceptional cases might be adduced
fact,
on almost every point of knightly usage, and to chronicle
the whole would be a labour of many pages. A detail of
such usages (the education of the varlets, the probation
of the knights, the ceremonies of investiture, and the
institutions of the various brotherhoods) is by no means

within the province of this work. A large amount of

information on these points will be found in the Memoires
sur Vancienne Chevalerie of
St.Palaye, and in the various
works of Ducange; from whose pages numerous refer-
ences will lead the more critical investigator to a wide

range of valuable authorities. An able sketch of the

Feudal System, as it existed in Italy, appears in the first
volume of Sismondi's Republiques Italiennes au Moyen-
dge, p. 80, sq.
Besides the feudal troops already noticed, there was a
more general levy, when any pressing danger menaced
the state. Thus, in 1124, Louis le Gros met .the threat-
ened invasion of the Emperor Henry Y. by raising an
army of more than 200,000 men f And under Philippe
.

le Bel, we have an ordinance calling upon all his sub-

" noble and
jects, non-noble, of whatsoever condition
they be, between the ages of eighteen and sixty," to be
ready to take the field. A
similar provision was found
in England. The Posse Comitatiis, which was under the
command of the sheriffs of the various counties, included

every freeman capable of bearing arms between the ages

of fifteen and sixty. In 1181, Henry II. fixed an assize

e
Sub an. 1386. f
Renault, i. 177.
98 ANCIENT ARMOUR

of arms, by which all his subjects, being freemen, were

bound to be in readiness for the defence of the realm.
" Whosoever holds one
knight's fee shall have a coat-
of-fence (loricam), a helmet (cassidem\ a shield, and a
lance ;
and every knight as many coats, helmets, shields,
and lances, as he shall have knights' fees in his domain.

Every having in rent or chattels the value

free layman,

of sixteen marks, shall have a coat-of-fence, helmet,

shield and lance. Every free layman having in chattels
ten marks, shall have a haubergeon (halbergellum\ iron

cap and lance (capelet ferri et lanceam). All burgesses

and the whole community of freemen shall have each a
'wambais,' iron cap, and lance. On the death of any
one having these arms, they shall remain to his heir.

Any one having more arms than required by this assize,

shall sell or give them, or so alienate them, that they
may be employed in the king's service. No Jew shall

have in his custody any coat-of-fence or haubergeon

(loricam vel halbergellwn), but shall sell it or give it, or
in other manner so dispose of it that it shall remain to
the king's use. No man shall carry arms out of the
kingdom, or sell arms to be so carried. None but a
freeman to be admitted to take the oath of arms (et prce-

cepit reedy quod nullus reciperetur ad sacramentum armorum

nisi liber homo*)" In this curious document it will be
remarked that the old national weapon, the axe, is alto-
gether omitted; and the bow, which afterwards became
so effective an arm among the infantry of this country,
is equally unnoticed. The extensive levy indicated in
these passages was clearly that of the so-called Arriere-

% New Rymer, vol. i.

p. 37.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 99

ban, the Milice des Communes, or Communitates Parochi-

arum ; troops who marched under the banners of their
respective parishes. For in an ordinance of Charles VI.
of France, in 1411, we find the ban and arriere-ban very
" Mandons
exactly defined : et convoquons par devant
nous, tons noz hommes et vassaulx tenant de nous, tant

en qu'en arriere-fiefs et aussi des gens des bonnes

fiefs :

villes de notre royaume qui ont accoustume d'eulx armer

11

par forme et maniere de arriere-ban ."

As the vassals were not always disposed to exchange
hawk and hound for lance and destrier, and as kings
found themselves but ill-served by barons who had be-
come almost as powerful as themselves, a plan was de-

vised,by which both were relieved from this embarrass-

ment of feudal relations. The vassal compounded by a
money-payment called Scutage for the service due to
his lord and the lord, with the proceeds of this shield-
;

tax, obtained the aid of foreign soldiery. Henry II.

in England, and Philip Augustus in France, employed

these mercenaries, who were called Coterelli, Eutarii,
Bascli, and Brabantiones, names derived from their
condition or country \ William the Conqueror, "Wace
tells us, had mercenary troops mixed with his feudal

followers :

" De mainte terre out soldeiers :

Gels por terre, eels por deniers." Rom. de Sou, 1. 13797.

Again :

"
Dune vindrent soldeirs a lui :

Et uns e uns, e dui e dui,

E quatre e quatre, e cine e sis,
E set e wit, e nof e dis :

h
Collect, des Ordonnances, viii. 640. Rigord, sub an. 1183. See also Du Cange
'
Madox, Hist. Excheq., 435 seq. ; or Adelung.

H a
100 ANCIENT AEMOUR

E li Dus toz les reteneit :

Mult lor donout e prameteifc.

* # * # *

Alquanz soldees demandoent,

Livreisuns e duns covetoent." Line 11544.

Besides the troops enumerated above, the King's Body-

guard became a corps of some celebrity at the close of

the twelfth century. Philip Augustus is said to have
instituted this corps in the Holy Land, to protect his

person from the machinations of the Old Man of the

Mountain; and in imitation of his ally, Eichard of
England embodied a similar force. The. Servientes ar-
morum, Sergens d'armes, or Sergens a maces, were armed
cap-a-pie, and besides their distinctive weapon, the mace,
k
carried a bow and arrows ,
and of course a sword. In the
1
fourteenth century they had a lance In the beginning .

of the fifteenth century, as we learn from the curious

m
incised stones formerly placed in the church of their
brotherhood, St. Catherine- du-val, at Paris, and now pre-
served in the Church of St. Denis, the screens d'armes
were still clad in complete armour, their weapons being
a mace and sword. The number of these guards at
their first institution is not clear, but in the time of
Louis VI. of France they were reduced to a hundred.
It must be borne in mind that the name of serviens or

sergent, as military persons, had a much

applied to
wider signification than this of a body-guard. It often
included all beneath the dignity of a knight.
The Archers in the William the Conqueror
army of
fulfilled those duties of preliminary fight which at a
later period fell to the lot of the musquetiers, and in

k
Statute of Philip IV. sub an. 1285. m
Figured by Daniel, by Lenoir, by
Willemin, and by Guilhermy.
1
Daniel, Mil, Fran., ii. 95.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 101

our own day have passed to the cannonier. The Nor-

man bowmen are the first of the invading troops to set
foot on English soil :

" Li archiers sunt

primiers iessuz :

El terrain sunt primiers venuz.

Dune a chescun son arc tendu,
Couire et archaiz el lez pendu.

Tuit furent rez e tuit tondu,

De cors dras furent tuit vestu." Rom. de Rou, 1. 11626.
These shaven and shorn, short-coated archers, with their
quivers hung at their side, are exactly reproduced in the
Bayeux tapestry (Plates xm., xv., and xvi.) :

"
La gent a pie fu bien armee :

Chescun porta arc et espee.

Sor lor testes orent chapels,
A lor piez liez lor panels.

Alquanz unt bones coiries,

K' il unt a lor ventre lies.
Plusors orent vestu gambais,

*****
Couires orent ceinz et archais.

Cil a pie aloient avarit

Serreement, lors ars portant." Line 12805.

From this curious passage it appears that the archers of

"William were not a particular and distinctly organized

corps, but that all the foot were armed with the bow.
The caps and boots are clearly portrayed in the Bayeux
tapestry ;
and from this valuable monument we obtain
an exact confirmation of the statement of Wace, that
some of the archers were clad in armour. See Plate xiu.
"We must observe also, that the advantage of a close
formation was thoroughly appreciated at this day. The
serried order of the foot noted above was also adopted

by the cavalry :

"
Cil a cheval e cil a pie
Tindrent lor eire e lor compas,
Serreement lor petit pas,

OF
E
or
102 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Ke 1' un T ne trespassout,
altre
Ne n' aprismout ne n' esloignoufc.
Tuit aloent serreement,
E tuit aloent fierement." Line 12825.

In Plate xin. of the Bayeux tapestry, we find an archer

who carries his quiver, not " el lez pendu," but slung at
his back, so that the arrows present themselves at the

right shoulder. In Plate xvi. we have a mounted

archer joining a group of knights in the chase of the
discomfited Saxons; from which we may venture to

infer, that on the rout of an enemy it was the practice

of such bowmen as could obtain horses, to act with the

cavalry in the pursuit of the flying foe.

GREAT SEAL OF WILLIAM RUFUS.

No. 26.

If the K"orman archers were for the most part clad in

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 103

* f
cors dras," the horsemen were fully furnished in the
choicest military equipment of the day :

" Dune issirent li Chevalier,

Tuit arme e tuit haubergie n :

Escu al col, healme lacie :

Ensemble vindrent al gravier ,

Chescun arme sor son destrier.

Tuit orent ceintes les espees,
El plain vindrent lances levees.
Li Barunz orent gonfanons,
Li chevaliers orent penons." JRom. de Rou, 1. 11639.

" Chevaliers ont haubers e

branz,
Chauces de fer, helmes luizanz,
Escuz as cols, as mains lor lances." Line 12813.

In the south, military science was already so far ad-

vanced that a Code for the discipline of troops had been
established. down by the Emperor Frederic
The rules laid
for the control of his army in Italy in 1158, have been
p
preserved by Eadevicus of Frisinga and are given by ,

Sismondi q .

Wherever the feudal system had taken root, a similar

arming and similar tactics prevailed. The military
" Chevals
quistrent et armes a la guise franchoise,
Quer lor semblout e plus riche e plus cortoise."

But border-nations of Europe, where the old

in the
liberties of Celt and Teuton still lingered, the fashions

of war were very different. In Ireland, in Scotland, in

"Wales, and in the Scandinavian North, the heroes were
by no means clad in the pattern of the Bayeux tapestry.
From Giraldus Cambrensis we learn that the Irish in the
twelfth century wore no body-armour. In riding they

n p
Having hauberks. Lib. i.
cap. 25.
The shore. *
Rgpub. Ital., vol. ii.
p. 84.
104 ANCIENT AKMOUR

used neither saddle nor spur. Their shields were cir-

cular,and painted red. Helmets they had none. Their

weapons were a short spear, javelins, and an axe. The
axes,which they had derived from the Norwegians and
Ostmen, were excellently well steeled. "They make
use of but one hand when they strike with the axe,
extending the thumb along the handle to direct the
blow 5
from which neither the helmet can defend the
head, nor the iron folds of the armour the body ; whence
it has happened in our time that the whole thigh of a

soldier,though cased in well-tempered armour, hath been

lopped off by a single blow, the limb falling on one side
of the horse, and the expiring body on the other. They
are also expert beyond all other nations in casting stones
in battle, when other weapons them, to the great
fail

detriment of their enemies

1
"." The bow not being in
use among the Irish of this time, and consequently there
being nothing to oppose to the distant attack of the
Norman archers, the havoc made by these latter troops
"
was that
terrific; so in his Giraldus, chapter, Qualiter
Hibernica gens expugnanda," recommends that in all
sit

attacks upon them, bowmen should be mixed with the

heavy-armed force.

The "Welsh also retained their old mode of war-

fare :

"
Gens Wallensis habet hoc naturale per omnes
"
Indigenas, primis proprium quod servat ab annis,

"
says Guillaume le Breton. They are lightly armed,"
writes Giraldus Cambrensis,
" so that their agility may

not be impeded ; they are clad in haubergeons (loricis

r
Topographia Hiberniee.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 105

minoribus), have a handful of arrows, long lances, hel-

mets, and shields, but rarely appear with iron greaves
(ocreis ferreis).
Fleet and generous steeds, which their

country produces, bear their leaders to battle, but the

greater part of the people are obliged to march on foot

over marshes and uneven ground. Those who are

mounted, according to opportunity of time and place,

both for the retreat and advance, easily become infantry.
Those of the foot- soldiers who have not bare feet, wear
shoes made raw
hide, sewn up in a barbarous fashion.
of
The people of Gwentland are more accustomed to war,
more famous for valour, and more expert in archery,
than those of any other part of Wales. The following
examples prove the truth of this assertion. In the last

assault of Abergavenny Castle, which happened in our

days, two soldiers passing over a bridge to a tower built
on a mound of earth, in order to take the Welsh in the

rear, their archers, who

perceived them, discharged their
arrows, penetrating an oaken gate which was four fingers
thick: in memory of which deed, the arrows are still

preserved sticking in the gate, with their iron piles seen

on the other side. Their bows are made of wild elm,
. . .

unpolished, rude, and uncouth, but strong; not calcu-

lated to shoot an arrow to a great distance, but to inflict
8
very severe wounds in closer fight ." Guillaume le

Breton, in describing the Welsh troops who accom-

panied Eichard Coeur- de-Lion into France, deprives them
of defensive armour altogether :

" Nee soleis plantas, caligis nee crura gravantur :

F-rigus docta pati, nulli oneratur ab armis,
Nee munit thorace latus, nee casside frontem*."

l
Iter Cambriae, c. 3. Philippidos, 1. 5.
106 ANCIENT ARMOUR

But he allows them a greater variety of weapons on this

occasion than is found in the account of Giraldus :

" Clavam cum

jaculo, venabula, gesa, bipennem,
Arcum cum pharetris, nodosaque tela vel hastam."

The yesa is the often-mentioned

of this passage guisarme.
The nodosa not
tela isso clear, but may have been a
dart with a ball at the end; the object of which ball
was to arrest the javelin through the
when, sliding

hand, it had inflicted its wound, so that it might be

employed afresh. Such weapons were used by the
employed in the man-
and are
11
ancient Egyptians ,
still

ner mentioned above by the Nubians and Ababdeh.

Hoveden, describing the battle of Lincoln in 1141, and

" On
the disposition of the Earl of Chester's army, says :

the flank, there was a great multitude of Welshmen,

better provided with daring than with arms."
In Scotland, two leading influences were at work.
The highlanders adhered to their old habits and their
old arms with a pertinacity which has not been ex-
tinguished even in our own day. The round shield or-
namented with knot-work subsisted to the field of Cullo-

den, and the dagger with its hilt of the same pattern, is

still in vogue. But in the south of Scotland the fashions

of France and of England had made great inroads espe- ;

cially advanced by the crowds of discontented nobles of

Saxon and of Norman blood, who sought in the court of
the Scottish king solace for their misfortunes, or revenge
for their wrongs. Thus in the seal of Alexander I.
(11071124,)

Wilkinson, i. 356, ed. 1854.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 107

FROM THE GREAT SEAL OF ALEXANDER I.,

KING OF SCOTLAND.
No. 27.

we monarch wearing the hauberk with tunic and

find that
the nasal helmet, and armed with lance and kite-shield,

exactly as seen in the monuments of his more southern

cotemporaries. This equipment, however, was only found

among the leaders of their hosts, and even they did not
always think fit to adopt the new fashion. Thus, at the
battle of the Standard, in 1138, the Earl of Strathearne

exclaims " I wear no who do will

:
armour, yet they
not advance beyond me this day."
This Battle of the Standard, so called from the Carro-

cium, or Car-standard, which was brought into the field

by the English, good insight into the warfare

affords us a

of the Scots of this day. Let us remember, however, that

it is an English chronicler who records the fight. Roger
x
of Hoveden us that the bishop who accompanied
tells

the English army, addressing the troops previous to the

* Of the Orkneys, to Wendover.

says Hoveden; of Durham, according
108 . ANCIENT ARMOUR
"
engagement, said of the Scots They know not how to
:

arm themselves for battle whereas you, during the time

;

of peace, prepare yourselves for war, in order that in

battle you may not experience the doubtful contingen-
cies of warfare.... But now, the enemy advancing in dis-
order, warns me to close my address, and rushing on
with a straggling front, gives me great reason for glad-
ness." At the end of his speech, " all the troops of the
'

Amen, Amen.'
'

English answered,
"At the same instant the Scots raised the shout of
their country, and the cries of
i

Albany, Albany !' as-

cended to the heavens. But the cries were soon drowned
in the dreadful crash and the loud din of the blows.
When the ranks of the Men of Lothian, who had ob-
tained from the king of Scotland, though reluctantly on
his part, the glory of striking the first blow, hurl-

ing their darts and presenting their lances of extra-

ordinary length, bore down upon the English knights
encased in armour, striking, as it were, against a
wall of iron, they found them impenetrable. The
archers of King Stephen, mingling among the cavalry,
poured their arrows like a cloud upon them, piercing
those who were not protected by armour. Meanwhile
the whole of the Normans and English stood in one
dense phalanx around the standard, perfectly immove-
able. The chief commander of the Men of Lothian fell
slain, on which the whole of his men took to flight.
On seeing this, the main body of the Scots, which was
contending with the greatest valour in another part of
the field, was alarmed and fled. Next, the king's
troop, which King David had formed of several clans,
as soon as it perceived this, began to drop off: at first,
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 109

man by man, afterwards in bodies; the king standing

firm, and being at last left almost alone. The king's

friends seeing this, forced him to mount his horse and
take to flight. But Henry, his valiant son, not heeding

the example of his men, but solely intent on glory and

valour, bravely charged the enemy's line, and shook it

by the wondrous vigour of his onset. For his troop
was the only one mounted on horseback, and consisted
of English and Normans who formed a part of his father s
household. His horsemen, however, were not long able
to continue their attacks against soldiers on foot, cased
in armour, and standing immoveable in close and dense
ranks ; but, with their lances broken, and their horses
wounded, were compelled to fly. Eumour says that
many thousands of the Scots were slain on that field,
besides those who, being taken in the woods and stand-

ing corn, were put to death. Accordingly, the English

and Normans happily gained the victory, and with a
very small effusion of blood." The standard which gave
to this battle of Cuton Moor its popular name, was
formed of a mast placed on a car, having at its summit
a silver pix containing the Host, and beneath, three

banners, those of St. Peter, St. John of Beverley, and

St. Wilfrid of Eipon.

The equipment of the Scandinavian heroes in the twelfth

century has come down to us in several cotemporary
writings. The author of the Speculum Regale, an Ice-
landic chronicle of this period, instructs his son in his

military duties : when combating on foot, he is to 'wear

his heavy, armour, namely, a byrnie, or thick panzar y

y
Panza, abdomen, alvus ; whence Panzeria, lorica quse ventrem tegit. Adelung.
Pansiere. Fr.
110 ANCIENT ARMOUK

(thungann pannzara), a strong shield (skiold) or buckler

(buklara), and a heavy sword. For naval actions the
best weapons are long spears, and for defence, panzars
made of soft and well-dyed linen cloth, together with
good helmets (hialmar), pendant steel caps (Jiang andi
stdlhufur), and broad shields 2 The directions
. for a

knight's equipment are more minute Let the horseman :

use this dress first, hose made of soft and well-pre-

:

pared linen cloth, which should reach to the breeches-

belt (broka-betttis) ; then, above
them, good mail-hose
(bryn-hosur), of such a height that they may be fastened
with a double string. Next, let him put on a good
pair of breeches (bryn-brtekur), made of strong linen ;

on which must be fastened knee-caps made of thick

iron and fixed with strong nails. The" upper part of
the body should first be clothed in a soft linen panzar
(blautann panzar d), which should reach to the middle
of the thigh; over this a good breast- defence (briost

biorg), of iron, extending from the bosom to the breeches

belt; above that a good byrnie, and over all a good

panzar of the same length as the tunic, but without
sleeves. Let him have two swords, one girded round
him, the other hung at his saddle-bow; and a good
dagger (bryn-kntf). He must have a good helm, made
of tried steel, and provided with all defence for the face

(met allri andlitz biaurg)and a good and thick shield

;

suspended from his neck, especially furnished with a

strong handle. Lastly, let him have a good and sharp
spear of tried steel furnished with a strong shaft*. It

will be remarked that the body is here clothed in four

z
Cited by Sir Frederic Madden in Archceologia, vol. xxiv. p. 259.
a
Speculum Regale, p. 405.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. Ill

different garments, one over the other ;

which appear to
be the tunic, reaching to mid- thigh; the breast-defence
of iron (whether formed in a single piece, or of several
smaller plates, does not appear); the hauberk of the

chain-mail, and the gambeson, a quilted coat, made in

this instance without sleeves. Besides the weapons
named above, the axe was still in favour among the
Northern warriors. By the ancient laws of Helsingia,

every youth on attaining the age of eighteen, was bound

to furnish himself with five kinds of warlike equipment :

a sword, an axe, a helmet (jernhatt], a shield, and a

byrnie or a gambeson. A
spirited passage of Giraldus
Cambrensis brings the Norwegian troops vividly before
us. Describing their attack upon Dublin, about 1172,
he has: " A
navibus igitur certatim erumpentibus, duce

Johanne, agnomine the wode, quod Latine sonat insano

vel vehementi, viri bellicosi Danico more undique ferro

vestiti, alii loricis longis, alii laminis ferreis arte con-

quoque rotundis et rubris, circulariter ferro

sutis, clipeis

munitis, homines tarn animis ferrei quam armis, ordi-

natis turmis, ad portam orientalem muros invadunt."
The round painted shields edged with metal will bring
to remembrance the similar defences of the Anglo-

Saxons; and in the laminated cuirass we see another

instance of the jazerant armour worn by Charlemagne.
In King Sverrer's Saga, written towards the close of the
twelfth century, by the abbot of Thingore in Iceland, and

others, from the narrative of the king himself, we have

a curious passage " Sverrer was habited in a
:
good
byrnie, above it a strong gambeson (panzard], and over
all a red surcote (raudan hiup*). "With these he had

b
Germ. lupe; Fr. Jupe.
 ANCIENT ARMOUR

a wide steel hat (pi da stdl7tufu\ similar to those worn by

the Germans ;
and beneath a mail cap (brynkollu) and
it ,

a i
panzara-hufu.' By his side hung a sword, and a

spear was in his hand ." From this description it seems

clear that those singular broad-rimmed helmets found
occasionally in monuments of the twelfth, thirteenth, and
fourteenth centuries, and more frequently in later times ;

of which examples occur among the sculptures of the tomb

of Aymer de Valence, in Westminster Abbey, and on the

great seal of king of Spain were intro-

Henry III., ;

duced into the north and west of Europe through Ger-

many; the Germans, on their part, probably deriving
them from the Italians to whom this form of headpiece
;

had come down from the well-known petasus of classic

times. The panzara-lmfu was probably a quilted coif
worn under the steel hat. Compare Willemin, vol. i.,

Plate CXLIII. ;
and see our woodcut, No. 56.
The Prussians in the twelfth century differ but little
in their appearance from the Anglo-Saxon warrior of the

preceding age. They wear the tunic, reaching to the

knees, and belted at the waist; but, in lieu of leg-
bands, have tight hose. They have spears little exceed-

ing their own height, and the shield they carry is a

mean between the kite and the pear-shape. derive We
these particulars from the curious figures of the bronze
doors of Gnesen Cathedral, given by Mr. Nesbitt in the

ninth volume of the Archaeological Journal, (p. 345);

the subject represented being the Legend of Saint Adal-
bert. Hartknoch (De Rebus Prussicis) tells us that the
arms of the Prussians were clubs, swords, arrows, spears

c
Noregs Konunga Sogor, iv. 298.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 113

and shields, and their dress consisted of a short tunic

of linen or undyed woollen cloth, tight linen chausses
reaching to the heels, and shoes of raw hide or bark.

Throughout the period which we are now investi-

gating, the Clergy not unfrequently appear in knightly

equipment at siege and battle. But in order to avoid
an infringement of the letter of the canons, which for-
bade them to stain their hands with human blood, they
armed themselves with the mace or baton. At the battle
of Hastings, Odo, bishop of Bayeux,
* " Un haubergeon aveit vestu
m
De sor une chemise blanche :

Le fut li cors, juste la manche.

Sor un cheval tot blanc seeit :

Tote la gent le congnoisseit :

Un baston teneit en son poing." Rom. de JRou, 1. 13254.

In the disorders of Stephen's reign, the prelates ap-

pear to have been still more frequently trespassers on
the canons of the Church ;
for the author of the Gesta

Stephani exclaims, "The bishops, the bishops them-

selves, I blush to say it, not all of them, but many,
bound in iron, and completely furnished with arms,
weue accustomed to mount war-horses with the per-
verters of their country, to participate in their prey."

Everyone will remember the answer attributed to

Eichard Cceur-de-Lion, who, when the pope required
him to release from captivity his spiritual "son," the
bishop of Beauvais, sent back the hauberk in which the
prelate had been taken, adding, in the words of the
history of Joseph: "This have we found: know now
whether it be thy son's coat or no." The monk of St.
Edmund's, Jocelin of Brakelond, tells us under the year
i
114 ANCIENT ARMOUR

1193: "Our abbot, who was styled 'the Magnanimous

Abbot,' went to the siege of Windsor, where he ap-
peared in armour, with other allots of England, having
his own banner, and retaining knights at heavymany
charges; being more remarkable there for his counsel
than for his piety. But we cloister-folks thought this
act rather dangerous, fearing the consequence, that some
future abbot might be compelled to attend in person on

any warlike expedition."

On other occasions, however, the clergy fulfilled in
the field duties more in harmony with their peaceful

calling, attending the wounded or consoling the dying.

At the battle of Hastings, the Norman priests gathered

together on a hillock, where, during the contest, they

offered up prayers for their companions :

" Li
proveire e li ordene
En som un tertre sunt monte,
Por Dex preier e por orer." Wace, 1. 13081.

And frequent injunctions forbade these holy men from

joining in military exploits. Among the decrees of the
synod of Westminster, promulgated in 1175, we read:
" Whoever
would appear to belong to the clergy, let
them not take up arms, nor yet go about in armour.
If they despise this injunction, let them be mulcted with
the loss of their proper rank d ."
The TACTICS of this period are pretty clearly exempli-
fiedby the proceedings of Duke William at the field of

Hastings. The army was divided into three corps :

" Normanz orent treiz cumpaignies,

Por assaillir en treiz parties."

a
Hoveden, sub anno 1175.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 115

The hired troops were placed in the first division, to

bear the brunt of the fight :

"Li Boilogneiz e li Pohiers 6

Aureiz, e toz mes soldeiers."

The second consisted of the Poitevins and Bretons,

" E del Maine toz li Barons."

The third corps was the largest :

"E
poiz li tiers ki plus grant tint."

And this, led by "William himself, appears to have held

the position of a reserve :

"
E jo, od totes mes granz genz,
Et od amiz et od parenz,
Me cumbatrai par la grant presse,
U la bataille iert plus engresseV
The battle was opened by the archers :

" Gil a
pie aloient avant
Serreement, lor ars portant."

The charge well known, was pre-

of the horse, as is

ceded by the feat of Taillefer, to whom the duke had

accorded the privilege of striking the first blow. The

charge of the knights was at this time, and long after,

made in a single line, or en haie, as it was called ; the
attack in squadrons being a much later practice. The
Normans acted against their opponents as well by the
weight of the horse as by dint of weapons. One knight
" Assalt
Engleiz o grant vigor
Od la petrine du destrier :

En fist maint li jor tresbuchier,

Et od 1'espee, al redrecier,
Yeissiez bien Baron aidier." Line 13491.

e
Men of Poix, in Picardy. f
From ingruens.

I 2
116 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Another
" un Engleis ad
.
encuntre,
Od li cheval 1'a si hurte,
Ke mult tost 1' a acravente,
Et od li
piez tot defole s."Line 13544.

Spare horses and arms are provided for distinguished

leaders :

" Li Dus fist chevals demander :

Plusors en fist tres li

b mener.
Chescun out a 1' ar$on devant
Une espee bone pendant.
E cil ki li chevals menerent
Lances acerees porterent." Line 12699.

In the crusades, the European knrghts occasionally,

though very rarely, contended on foot ; and the Princess
Anna Comnena remarks that the Trench men-at-arms,
so terrible on horseback, are little dangerous when dis-

mounted 1
.

To disorder the enemy's ranks by a simulated flight

appears to have been a favourite stratagem of the Nor-

mans. Duke William Sans-peur used this device against
the Germans before Eouen :

" Li Normanz par voisdie k s'en alerent fuiant,

Por fere desevrer eels ki vindrent devant ;

Et Alemanz desrengent, si vont esperonant :

As portes de Eoen la vindrent randonant 1

."

Wace, 1. 3972.

The similar incident of the battle of Hastings is in the

recollection of all :

" Normanz aperchurent e virent

Ke Engleiz si se desfendirent
E sunt fort por els desfendre,
si

Peti poeint sor els prendre :

e foule. h l
aupres de lui. Alexiad., bk. v.
k '
par ruse. charging impetuously.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 117

Priveement unt cunseillie,

Et entrels unt aparaillie,
Ke des Engleiz s'esluignereient,
E de fuir semblant fereient." Line 13311.

Another device of Duke "William on this eventful day

was English by a downward flight of arrows,
to assail the

for he had found that the shields of his opponents

had secured them from the effects of a direct attack :

"Docuit etiam dux Willielmus viros sagittarios ut non

in hostem directe, sed in ae'ra sursum sagittas emitterent
cuneum hostilem sagittis csecarent :
quod Anglis magno
fuit detrimento m ."
War-cries were still in vogue, and saintly relics and
emblems were regarded with a veneration commensurate
with the power of the Church and the confiding credu-
lity of the soldiery. The sacred symbol of the Cross is
seen constantly on the shields of the knights ; and one
of the barons of Bufus, on departing for the Crusades,
tells the king that his
shield, his helmet, his saddle, and
his horses, shall all be marked with this holy device".
It was even found useful to enrol mock-saints in the
armies contending against the enemies of the faith.

Thus, in the contest between the Saracens in Sicily

and Count Eoger, about the year 1070, Saint George
mounted on a white horse is seen to issue from the
Christian ranks, and head the onslaught on the unbe-
lievers:
u
Apparuit quidem eques splendidus in armis,
equo albo insidens, album vexillum in summitate has-
tilis
alligatum ferens, et desuper, splendidem crucem et
quasi a nostra acie progrediens. Quo viso nostri hila-

m n
Henry of Huntingdon. Ordericus Vitalis, p. 769.
118 ANCIENT ARMOUR

riores effect! Deum Sanctumque Georgium ingeminando

ipsum preecedentem promptissime sunt secuti ." It is
perhaps unnecessary to say that the narrator of this in-
cident gives it in implicit belief of the saintly character
of the splendid knight.
Not but necromancers were occasionally
saints alone,

attached to military expeditions. Such an auxiliary,

according to Wace, accompanied Duke "William in his

expedition to England :

" Un clers esteit al Due venuz

Ainz ke de Some fust meuz :

D'Astronomie, 90 diseit,
E de nigromaucie saveit :

For devineor se teneit,

De plusurs choses sortisseit." Line 11673.

Having predicted a voyage to "William, and the

safe

prediction having been fulfilled, the duke remembered

him of his nigromanden, and desired that search might
be made for this learned clerk. But the poor fellow had
himself been drowned in the passage :

" En mer esteit, 90 dist, neiez,

Et en un nef perilliez."

On which the duke wisely remarks :

" Malement devina de

mei,
Ki ne sout deviner de sei."

Adding :

" Pol est ki se fie en devin,

Ki d'altrui ovre set la fin,
E terme ne set de sa vie :

D'altrui prend garde e sei s'oblie."

Gaufridus Malaterra, lib. ii. c, 33.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 119

GREAT SEAL OF KINO HENRY THE FIRST.

No. 28.

In examining the BODY-ARMOUR of the period under

review, though we find some change in the adaptations
of the old fabrics, of the quilted- work, of the interlinked

chain-mail, of the scale and jazerant, there appears to

be only one piece which is entirely new, the so-called
Plastron de fer, a breastplate that was worn beneath the

gambeson or other armour that formed a general cover-

ing for the body. In a preceding passage from the
Speculum Regale^ we have read of a breast-defence of
iron, extending from the throat to the waist, which may
have been the breastplate in question. But a passage
of Guillaume le Breton more exactly defines this con-
trivance. . In the encounter between Eichard Coeur-de-
Lion (then earl of Poitou), and Guillaume des Barres :

"
Utraque per clipeos ad corpora fraxinus ibat,

Gambesumque audax forat et thoraca trilicem

120 ANCIENT ARMOUK

Disjicit ardenti nimium prorumpere tandem

:

Vix obstat ferro fdbricata patena recocto,

Qua bene munierat pectus sibi cautus uterque."
Philippidos, lib. iii.

A further evidence of this additional arming of the

breast may be derived from the present practice of the
East, where quilted coats-of-fence have a lining of iron

plates at that part only. In the museum of the United

Service Institution may be seen Chinese armours of this
construction.

Though from written testimonies we learn that the

fabrics already enumerated were in use, and that the
materials of the defences were iron, leather, horn, and
various kinds of quilting, it is by no means easy to

identify these structures in the pictorial monuments of

the day. Nothing perhaps can more strongly mark this

fact,than the diversity of interpretation that has been

given to the armours in the Bayeux tapestry by some
of the latest and most critical investigators of the sub-

ject. Von Leber sees in them a contrivance of leather

and metal bosses " ein
Lederwamms mit aufgenahten
:

Metallscheiben oder Metallbukeln p ." M. Allou attires

the warrior in a " vetement forme d'an- particulier
neaux ou de mailles de ou bien de petites pieces de
fer,
meme metal assemblies a la maniere des tuiles ou des
ecailles de poissonV In the Bulletin Monumental of the
" On
Societe Fran^aise, page 519, we have
vol. xi., :

croit distinguer, d'apres P indication de la broderie, des

disques en metal appliques sur une jaque de cuir."

Mr. Kerrich r considers the coats marked with rounds as
chain-mail. M. de Caumont has remarked that
" in the

r
P Wien's kaiserliches Zeughaus. Collections in British Museum, Add.
i Mem. de la Soc. Royale des Antiq. MSS., No. 6731.
de France, iv. 277. Nouv. Serie.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 121

Bayeux tapestry some of the figures are in chain-mail,

and others in a kind of armour composed apparently of
metallic discs sewn to a leathern jaque *. In the following

we have collected the various modes of indicating the

armour in this tapestry, and it must be confessed that
no easy task. It is indeed rather
to appropriate each is

from a comparison with numerous other monuments,

than from the testimony of these examples alone, that
one is able to form any opinion as to the fabrics in-
tended ; and even at last the conclusion must be doubt-
ful, and may be erroneous. From analogous represen-
tations of various dates, however, it seems likely that
the figures 1 and 2 are intended for interlinked chain-
mail ; Nos. 3 and 4 for jazerant-work (armour formed of
small plates fastened by rivets to a garment of cloth or

canvas); Nos. 5 and 6 appear to be plain quilted de-

fences; No. 7 seems only a rude attempt to represent
the quilted coif; No. 8 is one of many examples where
different markings are used on the same garment. In
some instances,markings copied above are so
the

strangely intermixed in the same dress, that one is led

. Archaeol. Journ., vol. ii.

p. 409.
122 ANCIENT ARMOUR

to doubt if,
in each differing pattern is in-
any case,
tended to represent a different kind of armour.
If from the tapestries we turn to the seals of this

period, we shall find a similar difficulty in appropriating

the armours represented. The modes of marking the

defences are four. One of these is a sort of honeycomb-
work, formed by a number of small, shallow, circular
apertures, leaving a raised line running round their
edges, so as to give a reticulated appearance to the
surface. See woodcuts 42 and 43. This texture seems
to represent interlinked chain-mail. A second mode
consists of a series of lines crossing each other, so as

to form a trellis-work of lozenges.

GREAT SEAL OP KING STEPHEN. No. 30.

The great seal of King Stephen here given affords an

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 123

instance of this method. Compare also woodcut 'No. 41.

This, if not another conventional mode of representing

interlinked chain-mail, may be intended for quilted
armour. A third kind of engraving presents a number
of raised half-circles covering the surface of the hau-
berk. See woodcut No. 26. This, though often de-
scribed as scale-armour, seems to be no more than the

ordinary chain- mail, the difficulty of representing which

threw the middle-age artists upon a variety of expe-
dients to obtain a satisfactory result. In the fourth
method, lines of half-circles placed contiguously cover
the whole exterior of the garment; and that this is
another mode of indicating chain-mail is
clearly proved
by the similar work found on monuments of all kinds,
even to the sixteenth century. See woodcut No. 1, fig. 1.
From this glimpse at the seals and tapestries, (and the
illuminated manuscripts of the period contribute similar

testimony,) we may gather that the artists of this day

had no uniform method of depicting the knightly har-
ness ;
so that, instead of endeavouring to find a different

kind of armour for every varying pattern of the limners,

we should rather regard the varied patterns of the limners
as so many rude
attempts to represent a few armours.
In the following sketch we have collected some of the
methods in use at various times to indicate the ordinary
interlinked chain-mail.

Figure 1 the most usual, and is found from the

is

twelfth century to the sixteenth. See woodcut No. 1,

the seal of King Kichard I. Late examples occur in the
brass of Sir William Molineux, 1548*; in the sculptured

1
Waller, Part xiii.
 124 ANCIENT ARMOUR

effigy of Sir GilesDaubeny in Westminster Abbey and ;

in the statue of Sir Humfrey Bradburne, on his monu-

No. 31.

ment Ashborne Church, Derbyshire, 1581. Fig. 2 is

in
seen on our woodcuts 32, 37, and 53, from manuscript
miniatures it occurs in sculpture among the effigies of
:

the Temple Church, London. Fig. 3 is of frequent

appearance. See woodcut No. 59. The most ancient

monumental brass extant, that of Sir John D'Aubernoun,
(woodcut^ 55,) also exhibits this mode of indicating the
armour. Fig. 4 occurs in the brass of Sir Eichard de

Buslingthorpe, c. 1280, figured by Waller, Part x.

Fig. 5 is from one of the effigies in the Temple Church :

the lines are undulating channels in the stone. Fig. 6

is from the sculptured effigy of Eudolf von Thierstein,
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 125

at Basle :
engraved in Hefner's Costumes, part ii.,

Plate XLI. Fig. 7 occurs on the monumental statue of

11
Sir Walter Arden, in Aston Church, Warwickshire .

Fig. 8 is found in early woodcuts : as in the Morte

d' Arthur, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1498.

Fig. 9 an early example of

: this marking occurs in
Willemin's Monuments Inedits, vol. i.,
Plate 30 ;
a late
one (sixteenth century) in the incised slab of a Bagot,
in the church of Blithfield, Staffordshire. Fig. 10 a :

variety of the foregoing. See Hefner's Trachten, part i.,

Plate LXV., and part ii., Plate xxxiv. Fig. 11 from :

an ivory chess -piece of the thirteenth century woodcut :

No. 69. The rounds are punctured.

lines are incised, the

Fig. 12 is a very frequent pattern. It appears in the

Bayeux and in ivory

tapestry, in manuscript miniatures,
carvings. See the chess-piece engraved in Archceologia,
xxiv. 238, from the Isle of Lewis ; and compare the

figures of that very curious Asiatic roll in the Museum

of the Eoyal Asiatic Society. Fig. 13 : this trellis-work

is common in seals of the twelfth century. See our

woodcuts No. 30 and 41. The lozenges are slightly
sunk, the fillets in relief. Fig. 14 : found in the Bayeux

tapestry; in the Bible de St. Martial of the Imperial

Library of Paris, twelfth century and in Add. MS., ;

15,277, of the fifteenth century, where the mailing is

expressed throughout in this manner. The Asiatic roll
named above has it also. Fig. 15 : from the statuette
of "Sir de la Tremouille," 1514, in the collection at
Goodrich Court. The figure is of steel, and the squares
appear to have been formed by a punch. Fig. 16 from :

the sculptured effigy of a Berkeley in Bristol Cathedral.

u Plate vn.
Hollis, Part iv.
126 ANCIENT ARMOUR

The markings are channels in the stone. Fig. 17 : from

Eoy. MS., 14, E. iv. The mailing in this volume is

expressed by close, fine lines : the manuscript is of the

fifteenth century. Fig. 18 : the honeycomb- work found
on early seals. The great seal of King Stephen (woodcut
42) affords a
good example. The rounds are depressed,
the edges have a reticulated appearance. Figs. 19 and
20 from the illuminations of a Sanscrit MS. in the
:

British Museum, (Add. MSS., 15,2957.) These very

curious volumes abound in armed figures, which are large,
and carefully finished. Fig. 21 from Egerton MS., No. :

809, twelfth century; and Add. MS. 15,268, of the

thirteenth century. Fig. 22 from Harleian MS., 2803.:

This differs but little from fig. 20 ;

but fig. 20 has more
of the scale form, while this is rather of nwy-work. Fig.
23 a marking found in early etchings, and very well
is

represents the texture of chain-mail.

As we have already seen, the Body-armours which
may most safely be assigned to early Norman times are
chain-mail, quilted- work, jazerant, scale, and a small
proportion of plate used as an additional protection to
the breast the materials, iron, leather, and horn, with
:

wool, tow, or cotton for quilting pourpointed defences.

The ordinary body-garments worn by the knight
series of

are the Tunic, the Garnbeson and the Hauberk. The

Surcoat, though found in some rare instances at the close
of the twelfth century, does not become a characteristic

part of the knightly equipment till the thirteenth cen-

tury.
The Tunic appearing from beneath the hauberk may
be seen in the seals of Alexander I. of Scotland, and of
Eichard I. of England, (cuts 1 and 27,) and in the ac-
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 127

Y. 6, the Life of "

companying group from Harleian Koll,
Saint Guthlae," a work of the close of the twelfth cen-

tury. Compare also wood-

cuts 34, 35, and 40. "We
have already had written
notice of this garment in
the "blautann panzara"
of the Speculum Regale.
"Wace gives it also to

Bishop Odo, for the field

of Hastings :

"
Un haubergeon aveit vestu
De sor une chemise-blanche."

The Gambeson (or

Wambasium*,) was a

quilted garment, used

either alone, or with other
armour. This defence is

as early as the Ancient

Egyptians, and figured

examples of it
may be
seen in Sir Gardner Wil-
kinson's work, Plate m.,
and cut 46, (ed. 1837).
From a curious passage
of the Chronicon CoZma- No. 32.

riense we learn that it was stuffed with wool, tow, or old

" Armati
rags :
reputabantur qui galeas ferreas in capi-
tibus habebant, et qui wambasia, id est, tunicam spissam

* Vocis Germanico ut Wambasiwm, fuit Ventrale, ventris et

etymon a veteri

quidam accersunt, Wamba, venter ; vel a pectoristegmen, quodGermanni Wammes

Saxonico Wamb, quod idem sonat : ita vocant. Adelung sub v. Gambeso.
128 ANCIENT ARMOUR

ex lino et stuppa, vel veteribus pannis

consutam, et de-
super camisiam ferream, id est vestem ex circulis ferreis
contextam." An ancient authority quoted by Adelung
has also: "vestimenti genus, quod de coactili ad men-
suram et tutelam pectoris humani conficitur, de mollibus

lanis," &c.
As
the sole armour of the soldier, the gambeson is
mentioned both by Wace and Guillaume le Breton. The
former tells us, in his description of the troops of Duke
William preparing for the fight :

"Plusors orent vestu gambais." Rom, de Sou, 1. 12811.

The latter says :

"
Peclora tot coriis, tot gambesonibus armant." Philipp., lib. ii.

These were probably foot-troops; but a document of

the next century shews us that horsemen were some-
times armed in the wambais only. In 1285, land in
Eewenhall, Essex, is held by Eustace de Ho, " per ser-

jantiam inveniendi unum hominem equitem cum uno

gambesone in exercitu Dom. Eegis, cum contigerit ipsum
7
ire in Wallia, sumptibus suis propriis per XL. dies ." It

seems likely that many of these quilted coats-of-fence

were reinforced by plates of iron over the breast, as in
the pourpointed armours of the East in the present day.
As an additional reason for considering the defences of
gamboised work to be those indicated by the cross-lines
of the ancient vellum-pictures, we may mention that the

garments thus marked are occasionally tinted in various

colours. Thus, the figures in a Massacre of the Innocents,

in Cotton MS., Caligula, A. vii., are painted with red,

y Plac. Cor., 13 Edw. I.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 129

blue, green, and buff; and another in Count Bastard's

work, from a French manuscript of the twelfth century,
has the garment marked with stripes of red 2 The "Ake- .

ton" appears to be but another name for the gambeson.

The Hauberk was the chief knightly defence. It
reached to the knees; the skirt sometimes opening in

front, sometimes at the sides. The sleeves usually ter-

minated^ jtt the elbow, but occasionally extended to the
wist. Sometimes the hauberk reached as high as the
neck only, but more generally it was continued so as to
form a coif, leaving only the face of the
knight exposed
to view. In many examples in the Bayeux tapestry, it
is furnished with a kind of

pectoral, the construction of

which has not been ascer-
tained in other cases, the
:

whole surface is of a uni-

form structure. In this rude
but curious little figure
from Harleian MS., 603 a ,

a work of the close of the

eleventh century, probably
executed in France, we
have a good example of the
hauberk of the period, with
its short sleeves, and the
skirts open in front for
convenience of riding. This
is
exactly the hauberk of the
Bayeux tapestry, though
more clearly depicted here
*
Ve . Livraison : Bible de St. Martial. Folio, 73 verso.

K
130 ANCIENT ARMOUR

than in the needle-work of the tapestry. The rounds on

the surface appear to be a conventional mode of repre-

senting chain-mail. The figure is that of Goliath, to

whom therefore has been given the long beard and
round target of the pagan Northmen. He wears, how-
ever, the conical nasal helmet of the knightly order.
In this example, from Cottonian MS., Nero, C. iv.
fol. 13, written in France, about 1125, we have a curious
instance of the hauberk with lateral

openings at the skirt. It is remark-

able also for the manner in which the

sword carried partially beneath the
is

hauberk; a contrivance seen also in

the Bayeux tapestry, (Plate vi.,) and
of which analogous examples will be
found throughout the middle-ages. In
the figure before us, it will be ob-
served that the defence is continued
over the head as a coif or hood, and
is surmounted by the usual conical
nasal helmet, or " Casque Normand."
The subject of which this forms part,
is the Massacre of the Innocents. The
stigma of a moustache is therefore

added, in the same spirit as the beard

was given to Goliath in the preceding

example.
The continuous Coif to the hauberk
is 'seen constantly in the Bayeux
No. 34.
tagestry, (Stothard,
Plates x. to xni.).
It occurs also on many of the seals of the twelfth century,

(see our cuts, *No.

V ____._M*MMMMHMMVB|
27,
MMH"*M
43 and 44 ;)
MMMMBOT)MMMMlMNMMHMn^Ml
<|
and
" in vellum-paintings
tfflMttVdMHhMMMttr
-
*
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 131

of this time, (see cuts 32, 34, 37 and 38). The hood
of mail made separately from the hauberk does not ap-

pear the thirteenth century.

till The short sleeves of
this garment are seen in our woodcuts 25, 32 and 38.

Examples of the long-sleeved hauberk occur in cuts 28,

37, 42 and 43.

The Haubergeon, as the name indicates, was a smaller
hauberk; though it does not appear by the pictorial
monuments of the middle ages in what it especially
differed from the latter defence. While Duke William,
preparing for the battle of Hastings,
"Sun boen Jiaubert fist demander ;"

Bishop Odo
" Un haulergeon aveit vestu."

The Duke was armed with lance and sword ;

the
Prelate
m " Un boston teneit en son poing."

All TTOch seems to shew that Odo was equipped as a

light-armed fighter. And perhaps we may gather from

the prominent notice accorded to his " white tunic," that
it was the shortness of the haubergeon which caused that
garment to be so particularly remarked. In documents
of the thirteenth century, the haubergeon is distinguished
from the hauberk and gambeson, taking its place between
them. Thus the Statute of Arms of 1252 directs every
man, according to the rate of his lands and chattels, to
provide himself with the lorica, or with the habergetum,
or with the perpunctum. And the Statute of Winchester,
in 1285, makes the same distinction. From Guillaume
Guiart we learn that this garment was of mail :

" Armez de cotes a leurs tallies,

Et de bons hauberjons a mailles." Sub an. 1304.

K 2
132 ANCIENT ARMOUR

And the Teloneum S. Audomari has "

:
Lorica, iv. denar. ;

Lorica minor, quse vulgo Halsbergol dicitur, n. den."

Body-armour of Leather is found throughout the middle

ages. According to Wace, some of the Norman soldiers
in the Conqueror's train had defences of this material
fastened to their breasts :

"
Alquanz unt bones coiries,
K'U unt a lor ventre lies." Line 12,809.
And Guillaume le Breton in the "Philippidos"
has,
" Pectora
tot coriis, tot gambesonibus armant ;"

while a passage cited by Ducange shews us that, some-

times at least, this cuirass was of leather boiled in oil ; a
material much in vogue in the middle-ages, under the
name of " cuir boulli :"
" Cuirie
ot bonne, qui fust de cuir boilly."

A good example
of the Scale-armour
worn occasionally a-
bout the close of the
eleventh century is

afforded in the follow-

ing group, given by

Hefner a from a vel-
lum-painting in his

possession. The ar-

mour in the original

is silvered, and the
pendent scales of the
foremost figure are or-
namented with bosses
of gold. The tunics
are white, shaded with No 35

a
Trachten, Part I., Pkte xii.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 133

blue. The Princess Anna Comnena tells us that some

of the French knights at this period were clothed in
b
scale-armour .

The material of the scale-armour is

occasionally Horn.
In the twelfth century, the Emperor Henry V. clothed a

body of his troops in an impenetrable scale-armour of

horn: " So trug im Jahre 1115 eine Schaar im Heere
HeinrichsV. undurchdringliche Harnische von Horn c ."
And in the poem of " Wigalois," written about the close
of the twelfth century, we have a curious description of
this horn-mail worn over the hauberk and richly adorned
with gold and precious stones :

"Ein brunne bet er an geleit

Uber einen wizzen balspercb.
Daz was beideniscbez wercb
Yon breiten lilechen Jiurnin;
Mit golde waren geleit dar in
Rubin, und manec edel stein
Der glast da wider einander scbein
Saffire und berillen."

The accompanying little figure

from Harleian MS., No. 603,
fol.13 V0 ., appears to wear a
defence of scale-work, but of
what material it is difficult to
say. The original is a pen-
drawing only: the manuscript,
of the^close of the eleventh

century. The figure is further NO. 36.

curious for the mantle fastened at the right shoulder

by a fibula.

c
Raumer's Hohenstanf: in Von Leber's Wien's Jcaiserliches Zeughaus, p. 507.
134 ANCIENT ARMOUR

From the monuments of this time, it does not appear

that leg-defences were general. In the Bayeux tapestry
they are accorded only to the most distinguished per-

sonages : in these cases, they are generally marked with

rounds, as the hauberks are, probably indicating chain-
mail. In this tapestry, three other modes of clothing the
leg are seen in some figures the crossing lines forming
:

lozenges are found, which we have assumed to be pour-

pointerie ;
in others appear the fasciae, or winding bands,
which we have already observed among the Anglo-Saxons :

and in many, the chausses are merely represented of a

single colour, as red, blue, or yellow; which does not
seem to imply armour of any kind. "Wace makes men-
tion of iron chausses :

"
Chevaliers ont haubers e branz,
Chances de fer, helmes luizanz." Line 12,813.

They are seen in the great seals of Eichard the First,

(cut 1,) and in other monuments of the twelfth century.

In this curious group of David and Goliath, from a Ger-
man manuscript in the British Museum, dated 1148 d ,

we have a singular example of studded chausses the :

chain- work of the hauberk being marked in rows of half-

and coloured grey in the original, the chausses
circles,
marked in rounds, and silvered, it becomes clear that the
latter garment is of a different construction from the coat.
From its being elastic, as shewn at the foot, it probably

was a defence of pourpointerie, the bossed rivets being

for the purpose of keeping the quilting in its place.

d Add. MSS., 14,789, fol. 10. The attitude of Goliath. David has in his
date appears in the colophon. The figures left hand a sling ;
at his belt is the
copied in our engraving form part of an pouch for the sling-stones,
illuminated letter: hence the constrained
PLATE XXXVII.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE, 135
136 ANCIENT AKMOUR

Such defences are frequently seen in monuments of the

fourteenth century, and real armour of this fabric will be
found among the Eastern examples in the Tower col-
lection and the United Service Museum. Where the
chausses are not of a defensive construction, the warrior
has commonly short boots, similar to those seen on the

figure of David in the fore-

going woodcut. In the

following example they
are of a more ornamental
character than usual ;
and
the chausses in this figure
are also of a peculiar
fashion. The subject is
from Harl. MS.
2803,
written about 1170, and

represents Goliath. The

short boot occurs likewise
on the seals of "William
the Conqueror and of
Alexander I. of Scotland,
(cuts 25 and 27). See also

examples from illuminated

manuscripts in. our en-

gravings 32, 34 and 36.

At the close of the eleventh
century, the fashion of the
boots ran into an excess
which much disturbed the
NO. 38.
equanimity of churchmen
"
and chroniclers. Then," says Malmesbury, under
the reign of William Eufus, " was there flowing hair and
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 137

extravagant dress ; and then was invented the fashion of

shoes with curved points." (Bk. iv. c. 1.) This device is
said to have originated with Fulk, earl of Anjou, who

sought thus to hide a deformity of his feet. Ordericus

Vitalis, who gives us the information, adds,
that the
fashion soon spread, and the shoemakers made their
wares with points like a scorpion's tail: "unde sutores
in calceamentis quasi caudas scorpionum, quas vulgo
Pigacias appellant, faciunt." This not being enough, a
" Eobertus
fellow of the court of Kufus, quidam nebula
in curia Eufi Kegis," filling the peak with tow, twisted
it round in the form of a ram's horn ; a fancy much ap-
proved by the courtiers, who distinguished the inventor
of the fashion with the surname of Cornardus. (Eccl.

Hist., lib. viii.)

Examples of the Mantle worn over the armour are

somewhat rare. The two following illustrations, from
monuments of the twelfth century, exhibit this arrange-
ment.

The first is from a sculptured doorway of Kuardean

138 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Church, in Gloucestershire, and represents St. George.

The cloak is here fastened by a fibula in front. The
second subject is from an enamel preserved at the

No. 40.

Louvre. The patriarch Abraham, armed as a knight,

with hauberk and nasal helmet, has his mantle fastened

at the right shoulder. Another subject from this enamel
isengraved in the Revue Archeologique, vol. vi., page 99 :

Heraclius slaying Cosroes. "Eraclius Kex" is armed

exactly like the figure of Abraham before us, and though

engaged in the decollation of the infidel monarch, still
retains the flowing and capacious mantle. See also, for
the cloak of this period, our woodcut No. 36, and
"
Glossary of Architecture," vol. ii.,
Plate LXXIII.
The characteristic Helmet of this time is the conical
nasal helmet, of which we have seen examples in the
close of the former period. The face-guard, or nasal,
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 139

was a revival from classic days. Good examples, of Greek

art, appear among the figures on the tympana of the

temple of Minerva at ^Egina ; careful casts of which have

been placed in the collection at Sydenham. The nasal
helmet is found, not alone in the eleventh and twelfth
centuries, but occasionally in every century down to the
seventeenth. In the Bayeux tapestry it is almost uni-
versal, the nasal being much broader than that of Greek

times, the crown conical, and not much raised above the
head. In some cases tasselled cords appear at the back
of the head-piece (see Plate xi. of the tapestry), which

may have served to fasten it to the coif below ; but the

chief fastening of the casque was by means of laces

meeting under the chin. See the seal of "William the

Conqueror (woodcut 25), and the excellent example in

the Kerrich Collections, from a sculpture at Modena (Add.
MSB., 6728, fol.
17). The round and flat-topped helmets
of the twelfth century have also the nasal. Of the first

an instance occurs in the seal of Patrick Dunbar, earl

of March, engraved in Laing's " Scottish Seals." The
second appears in the figures of the Harleian Eoll, Y. 6,

(woodcut 32). In seals, it is often very difficult to tell

whether a nasal has existed or not, from the melting of
the wax, and from this defence following so closely the
line of the face. In some rare instances, a sort of peak is

used instead of the nasal, not descending below the eye-

"
brows. See Plate 65 of Hefner's Costumes;" and com-
pare the figure on folio 9 of Cotton. MS., Tiber., C. vi.,

an example of Anglo-Saxon times. To the nasal helmet,

cheek-pieces and a neck-defence were occasionally added.
These pieces are also found on Greek examples, and ap-
pear, too, in modern Eastern armour ; as may be seen in
140 ANCIENT ARMOUR

the helmet of Tippoo Saib, preserved in the India House

Musenm. The casque with neck-piece appears in the
Bayeux tapestry (see Plate ix.), and on the seal of

Stephen de Curzun, (Cotton Charter, V. 49). The nasal

helmet with neck-guard and cheek-defences occurs among
the chess-pieces found in the Isle of Lewis, and now in
the British Museum.
The helmets not having nasals are chiefly conical, round
and flat-topped. The old combed form of Anglo-Saxon
times occurs in Harl. MS. 603, fol. 13 V0 a book of the
.,

close of the eleventh century. The Phrygian form ap-

pears in Harl. MS. 2800, fol. 21 of vol. ii., a work of the
close of the twelfth century. The conical casque is found

in the annexed seal of Conan, duke of Britanny, circa

No. 41.

1165 from Harl. Chart., 48, G. 40. The round-topped

:

helmet is seen on the first seal of Kichard I., (wood-

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 141

cut 1, fig. 1,) and in many examples in Cotton MS.,

Titus, D. xvi. The cylindrical or flat-topped helmet ap-
pears to have come into fashion towards the close of the

twelfth century. In its earliest form it resembled that

on the second seal of Eichard I., (woodcut 1, fig. 2,) and
the similar examples figured in Stothard's Monuments,
Plate xxiv., and Surtees' Durham, vol. i. p. 24, and vol.
ii.
p. 139. In all these examples the casque is of one

piece,having two horizontal clefts for vision, and being

strengthened by bands crossing each other over the face
and on the top. The Durham examples are without

ornament, but the helmet of Kichard has a fan-crest,

ensigned in its lower portion with a lion. The seal of
Baldwin, earl of Flanders, circa 1191, badly engraved by
Vredius, offers another early example of the flat-topped
knightly helm. The cylindrical casque common in the
next century from this in having a grated v entail;
differs

by which a better supply of air could always be obtained

by the warrior, and a still more abundant provision oc-
casionally acquired by opening the ventaglia, which to

this end was constructed with hinges at the side. Some

varieties of the casque worn during the twelfth century
may be seen in the Archoeologia, vol. xxiv., copied by Sir
Frederic Madden from the Isle of Lewis chess-pieces in
the British Museum. Among these will be remarked
the " Iron Hat," with its round crown and
flat rim, of

which we have already traced the descent from the petasus

6
of classic times . Sometimes the helmets are surmounted
with a kind of knop or button ; as in the picture given
f

by Silvestre from a Latin Horace in the Paris Library ;

e
Paleogr. Univ., PI. CLXXX.
f
See page 112.
142 ANCIENT ARMOUR

in the seal of William the Conqueror, in the Bayeux

tapestry, and in the Spanish manuscript of the year
1109 in the British Museum, (Add. MS. 11,695, fol.

194).
The fan-crest represented in the seal of Eichard I. is

a very early instance of a fashion which came into more

favour towards the close of the thirteenth century. Fan-
crests, as we have were in use among the Ancient
seen,

Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks, Eomans, and again among

the Anglo-Saxons. But they do not appear during the
rule of the Norman kings in England till the end of
the thirteenth century; except in this single instance
of Bichard's seal. It may perhaps be doubted if the mon-
arch ever wore such a decoration an embellishment, per-
:

haps, added by the seal-engraver from some monument of

classic times. This seems the more likely from the fact

that, in classic examples, the union of a fan-crest with

a casque adorned on its with an animal form,
sides

is of constant occurrence. Among a thousand examples

that might be cited, we may quote, as a readily acces-
sible authority, Montfaucon's Antiquite Expliquee, vol. i.,
Plate XLII. At a later period of the middle-ages, this
combination is again found : the helmet on the seal of

Eeinald, Graf von Geldern in 1343, has a striking resem-

blance to that of Eichard a lion is figured on the part
:

surmounting the crown of the head, and over that again

isplaced the fan-crest. A
copy of this monument may
"
be seen in the useful series of Ancient Seals" in the
Sydenham. Early examples of the casque
collection at

ornamented with a heraldic device on its surface are

offered by the enamelled tablet at Le Mans, attributed

to Geoffry of Anjou, (Stothard, Plate n.,) and the effigy

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 143

of " Johan le Botiler," circa 1300, engraved in our wood-

cut No. 74.
The Shields of this period are chiefly the kite-shaped,
the triangular, and the round. The first two are some-
times flat, and sometimes bowed; the round are flat or
convex. The most frequent occurrence
kite-shield is of

during the earlier part of the period under examination,

the triangular during the latter. As the round target
was most convenient for the foot-fighter, so the kite-

shield, broad inupper part, so as to cover the body of

its

the warrior, and narrow where the leg only required to be

defended, and where the position of the knight on his

horse necessitated a tapering form, seems to have been
most in favour with the horseman. The bowed kite-
shield is very distinctly shewn in many cotemporary
monuments : in Cotton MS., Titus, D. xvi., of the close
of the eleventh century; in the curious pyx from the
collection of the late T. Crofton Croker, Esq., engraved
in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for 1833 ;
in Harl. MS.,

2895, fol. 82 ;
in the enamelled figure attributed to Geoflry
of Anjou and in the seals of King Stephen, (woodcuts
;

30 and 42). The Princess Anna Comnena, at the close

of the eleventh century, tells us that the shields of the
French crusading knights were of this fashion " For :

defence they bear an impenetrable shield, not of a round,

but of an oblong shape ; broad at the upper part and ter-

minating in a point. The surface is not flat, but convex,

so as to embrace the person of the wearer; an umbo

of shining brass is in the middle ; and the exterior face

is of metal. so highly polished by frequent rubbing as to
dazzle the eyes of the beholder g ."

*
Alex., lib. xiii. p. 314.
144 ANCIENT ARMOUR

The flat kite-shield is not always to be identified in

the drawings of the time, because the shadeless outlines
of the limners may pass for either flat or bowed surfaces.
But that some at least of those in the Bayeux tapestry
were flat, seems clear from the soldiers using them as

trays on which to set the cups and dishes of their

" Prandium."
(See Plate xi.) Ivory carvings also shew
the flat kite-shield: the Isle of Lewis chessmen afford

good examples.
As we have seen from the above passage of Anna
Comnena, the old Northern fashion of the boss or umbo
was still but such an adjunct to a
occasionally retained ;

horseman's target seems rather for ornament than use.

The bossed kite-shield occurs in the enamel of Geoffrey
Plantagenet ; in the pyx named above ;
and in Harl. MS.

2895, fol. 82.

GREAT SEAL OF KING STEPHEN.

No. 42.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 145

In lieu of the convex boss, the shield has sometimes a

projecting spike as in the great seal of King Stephen,

;

here given ; and in the first seal of Eichard I. It occurs

also in the seals of William de Eomara (temp. Hen. I.),

in the office of the Duchy of Lancaster, and of a

Curzun (Cotton Charter, Y. 49).
About the middle of the twelfth century appears the

triangular shield, a form obtained by reducing the arched

top of the kite to a straight, or nearly straight, line.
This variety also was either bowed or flat ; and though
the earliest examples are as tall as the kite-shields of the
eleventh century, the triangular target soon became much
reduced in its height. The form of this defence, both
the and the bowed kind, may be seen in the seals of
flat

Henry and Eichard I. (cuts 1 and 44), the figures

II.

from Hefner's Trachten, (cut 35), and those from Har-

leian Eoll, Y. 6 (cut 32).
The round shield is of more rare appearance. It occurs

in Harl. MS. 603, of the close of the eleventh century ;

in the Spanish MS. of 1109, already cited; and in the

Psalter of Eadwine, circa 1150. Though the circular

target does not often appear in miniature paintings, it is

probable that it was in frequent use among the foot

troops.
The kite and triangular shields were provided with
straps for attachment to the arm and for suspension
round the neck. The first were called enarmes :

"
For la crieme des dous gisarmes,
L'escu leva par les enarmes."
Wace, Rom. de Rou, 1. 13,450.

" Li Dus vit sa gent resortir :

Par les enarmes prinst 1'escu." Idem, 1. 13 7 880.

L
146 ANCIENT AKMOUR

There was some variety in their arrangement, but the

objectwas always to attach the shield to the fore-arm :

the round target of the Anglo-Saxons, on the contrary,

was held at arm's-length by a bar grasped by the hand.
Examples of the enarmes of this period may be found in
Plate v. of the Bayeux tapestry. See also the seal of

Henry II., (woodcut 43). The guige or strap for suspen-

sion has already been described, as to its purpose, in our
first division. our woodcuts 32, 35,
It is represented in

42 and 43. By aid of the guige, the shield, when not in

use, could be carried at the back. An example, of the
close of the twelfth century, is offered by a vellum-paint-
ing of Harl. MS. 2800, vol. ii. fol. 21. It is also seen in
the very curious carved church- door from Iceland, figured
"
at page 103 of Mr. Worsaae's Copenhagen Museum."
The Devices upon the Shields in the earlier part of the

period under examination are devotional or fanciful. In

the second half of the twelfth century, heraldic bearings
that became hereditary, began to appear. The earlier

shield-paintings consist of crosses, rounds or bezants,

dragons, interlacing bands, flat tints bordered with a

different hue, or simple flat tints; with some varieties

which the pencil only can explain with clearness.

Numerous examples of these in all their diversity will

be found in the Bayeux tapestry, in Sir Frederic
Madden's paper on the Isle of Lewis chessmen, (Archceol.,
vol. xxiv.) and among the plates of Shaw's
" Dresses

and Decorations."
The two seals of Eichard the First very exactly mark
the growth of the science of heraldry. In the earliest,
the monarch's shield is ensigned with the symbol of

valour, a lion. (See woodcut, No. 1). But it is a rampant

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 147

lion, and as the bowed shield presents only one half of

its surface to view, it has been conjectured that the com-

plete device would consist of two lions combatant. This

device,whether of one or two lions, has passed away,

among the serpents and knot-work of the earlier time ;
but the bearing on Eichard's second seal, three lions

passant gardant, retains its place in the royal escutcheon

to the present day. In this second seal of Eichard (see
woodcut, No. 1, fig. 2), the lion passant appears also on
the helmet of the monarch. Another example of the
repetition of a royal device is afforded by the seal of

Alexander II. of Scotland (circa 12 14), where the lion

rampant figured on the shield is repeated on the saddle.

(Cotton Charters, xix. 2.)

The shields were often highly decorated with painting,
and even, if we may interpret literally the evidences of
chroniclers, with inlaid jewels. Examples of richly or-
namented shields of the twelfth century may be seen in
" Dresses and
Shaw's Decorations," and in Harl. MS.
2895, fol. 82. Eobert of Aix, in the eleventh century,

writing of the first crusade, tells us that the European

" auro et
knights carried shields gemmis inserti variis-

que coloribus depicti."

On board ship, the knights arranged their shields along
the side of the vessel, so as to form a kind of bulwark.
This is very clearly shewn in Plates n. and x. of the
Bayeux tapestry.
And when at length the knight fell in battle, his kite-
shield served him for a bier. The nephew of the emperor
Otho having been slain before Eouen, the Germans
" li cors se trahistrent el chief <T une valee ;

Sor uu escu 1'ont miz, la teste desarmee."

Roman de Eou, 1. 4024.
L 2
148 ANCIENT AEMOUR

As we have learned from a preceding passage, the

" shaven and shorn"
knights of the Conqueror's time had,
in the reign of his successor, fallen into disrepute as
models of fashion. Long hair came into vogue, called
down the anathemas of the Church, suffered a temporary

discredit, and again rose into favour. Malmesbury has

a curious sketch of this fluctuation of fashion. In the
"a
twenty-ninth regnal year of Henry I., he tells us,
circumstance occurred in England which may seem sur-

prising to our long-haired gallants, who, forgetting what

they were born, transform themselves into the fashion of
females, by the length of their locks. A certain English
knight, who prided himself on the luxuriancy of his
tresses, being stung by conscience on the subject, seemed
to feel in a dream as though some person strangled him

with his ringlets. Awaking in a fright, he immediately

cut off all his superfluous hair. The example spread
throughout England; and, as recent punishment is apt
men allowed their
to affect the mind, almost all military
hair to be cropped in a proper manner without reluctance.
But this decency was not of long continuance ;
for scarcely

had a year expired, before all who thought themselves

courtly relapsed into their former vice, vying with women
in the length of their locks, andwhenever they were de-
fective, supplying their place with false tresses In V
1102, at a council held in London by Archbishop Anselm,
itwas enacted that those who had long hair should be
cropped, so as to shew part of the ear and the eyes.
Cdmpare also the well-known passage of Ordericus Yitalis,
where he tells us how Bishop Serb, preaching before

h
Will, of Malmesburv, Mod, Hist., bk. i.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE.

Henry I. and his court, inveighed so successfully against

the iniquity of long locks, that his audience saw the folly
of their ways ; and the prelate, seizing the favourable

moment, produced a pair of scissors from his sleeve (de

manticd forcipes), and cropped the king and many of his
courtiers with his own hand 1
.

From Wace and the Bayeux tapestry we have found

that the Beard was not worn by the Normans at the time
of the Conquest, though in fashion among the Anglo-
Saxons :

" Li dormant * * *

N'unt mie barbe ne guernons,

Co dist Heraut, com nos avons." Line 12,252.

And the Normans continued their custom till the second

half of the twelfth century. The monumental effigy of

Henry II. at Fontevraud represents him without either

beard or moustache. " The k
beard," says Stothard , "is
painted, and pencilled like a miniature, to represent its
being close shaven." Among the English, however, the
beard was often retained, and became a sort of protest

against the new dynasty 1

In 1196 William Longbeard,
.

"le dernier des Saxons," as he is named by M.Thierry,

became conspicuous from his opposition to the Norman
rule, the inveteracy of which was manifested
to the world
m
by the excessive length of his beard ." At this time,
however, a beard and moustache of moderate dimensions
were in vogue among both races. The effigy of Eichard I.
at Fontevraud and that of King John at Worcester offer

good examples of this change of fashion.

1
Eccl. Hist.,, lib. xi.
m Recalcitrante Willelmo, cogno-
k
Monum, Eff., p. 6. mento cum barbd" Math. Paris.
" "
Cujus genus avitum ob indigna- Cognomento a Math, of
1
la barle."
tionem Normannorum, radere barbam Westminster.

contempsit." Math.. Paris, p. 127.

150 ANCIENT AKMOUR

The WEAPONS in use among the knightly order were

the lance, the sword, the mace, and, towards the middle
of the twelfth century, the axe. The shaft of the Lance
was of uniform thickness throughout, the swell at the
grip being a much later invention. The material was
usually ash or pine. "Wace, in the Roman de Ron, has :

" Mult i veissiez colps e de fer e d' achier,

Mainte hante n de sap e de fresne bruissier ." Line 4639.

Guillaume Breton, describing the combat of Eichard

le I.

and Guillaume des Barres, says :

"
Utraque per clypeos ad corpora fraxinus ibat."

And Albertus Aquensis, speaking of the French, tells

us :
" Hastee fraxinese in manibus eorum ferro acutissimo

grandes perticee," The heads of the

preefixee sunt, quasi
lance were commonly of the leaf-form or the lozenge j
more rarely barbed. All three appear in the Bayeux
tapestry, and are found in many monuments throughout
the twelfth century. Lance-flags (or streamers) of two,
three, four, and of five points are found at the close of
the eleventh and during the twelfth centuries. See Har-
leian MS. 603, the Bayeux tapestry, and our woodcuts,
Nos. 1, 27, 28, 30 and 37. A curious Eastern example
of the use of the lance-flag is found in the wall-painting
of the Ajunta caves, a work referred to the first cen-

tury of our era. A

fine copy of this interesting monu-

ment has been placed in the Museum of the East India

House. The spear was also a weapon of the inferior

troops :

" Archiers trovent

vilainz, dont la terre est planiere,
Ki porte arc e ki hache, ki grant lance geldiere."
Rom. de Ron, 1. 4680.

n shaft. briser.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 151

Geldon was a name often given to the foot soldiery :

" Et

ceciderunt de Israel triginta millia peditum:" 1. Kings

" Kar il i chairent trente
iv. 10. milie de gelded

GREAT SEAL OF KINO HENRY II..

No. 43.

The Sword was of the old form :

straight, broad,
two-edged, and pointed. The cross-piece was generally
straight : in other cases, curved towards the blade. Ex-
amples of the latter fashion occur in the great seal of
King Henry here given; in Harl. MS. 603, passim;
II.,
and in Cotton MS., Titus, D. xvi. See also our woodcut,
'No. 41. The pommel was round, hemispherical, square,
lozenge, trefoiled or cinquefoiled. All these forms may be
seen in Harl. MS., 603, Titus, D. xvi., the Bayeux tapestry,
Addit. MS. 11,695, and the effigy of Henry II., figured

by Stothard. This effigy also shews very clearly the

152 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Belt with its buckle, by which the sword was fastened

round the waist. Compare also the second plate of the
Bayeux tapestry, where the form of this short belt is very
distinctly exhibited. "We have already noticed that the
sword was sometimes worn with its handle projecting
through a cleft in the hauberk, the scabbard being fixed
beneath the hauberk. See cut 34, and Bayeux tapestry,
Plate vi. As in our own day, swords attributed to an-
cient heroes had an especial value, and became the most
cherished gifts of kings and nobles. Thus, when Eichard
Coeur-de-Lion was on his way to the Holy Land, "the

king of Sicily sent to him many presents of great value,

consisting of gold and silver, of horses and cloth of silk.
But the king of England would receive nothing from
him, except a little ring,which he accepted as a token of
their mutual esteem. On
the other hand, King Eichard

gave to King Tancred that most excellent sword which

the Britons call Caliburn^ and which had been the sword
of Arthur, once the valiant king of England p ."
The Sword of William the Conqueror became the
feudal instrument by which the Umfrevilles held the
lordship of Eiddesdale, in Northumberland: "In the
tenth year of William the Conqueror, .Eobert de Um-

franvil, knight, obtained from that king a grant of the

Lordship, Valley and Forest of Eiddesdale, by the service

of defending that part of the country for ever from Ene-
mies and Wolves, with that Sword which King William
had by his side when he entered Northumberland q ."
From a very curious drawing in the Psalter of Ead-

wine, written at Canterbury in the middle of the twelfth

P
Hoveden, sub an. 1191. * Blount's " Aiitient Tenures."
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE* 153

century, and now

preserved in the library of Trinity
College, Cambridge, we learn the exact manner in which
the soldiery of this day furbished and ground their
swords. The implement for furbishing is in the form
of an ordinary axe-head, fixed in the centre of a rod or

staff, which is held by both hands. This curious subject

has been engraved by Mr. Westwood in his Palceographia
Sacra.
The Mace does not often appear in the pictorial monu-
ments of the period. It is, however, seen in the Bayeux
tapestry, in the hands of both armies. The heads are
quatrefoil, or of a heart-shape. What Wace calls the
"
gibet" is considered to be the mace, and it is carried at
the right-hand side of the knight, to be used when the
lance had been broken :

" Endementrez ke il versa,

Sa lance chai e froissa,
Et il a le gibet seisi,
Ki a sun desire Iras pendi" Rom. de Rou, 1. 13,456.

It was also the usual arm of Churchmen when they

went to battle ; who sought thus to avoid the denuncia-
tion against those " who smite with the sword." Under
the name of clava, it is mentioned by Guillaume le

Breton :

" Nunc contus, nunc clava caput, nunc vero bipennis

Excerebrat." PUlippidos, p. 213.

The Axe, which in the Bayeux tapestry is never seen

in the hands of the Norman knights, appears in the
twelfth century to have come into favour among them,
for even the kings of this race are said to have contended

with it.Thus Iloveden, describing the valour of Stephen

at the battle of Lincoln, in 1141, says " Then was seen :
154 ANCIENT ARMOUR

the might of the king, equal to a thunderbolt, slaying

some with his immense battle-axe, and striking down
others. Then arose the shouts afresh, all rushing against

him, and he against all. At length, through the number

of the blows, the king's battle-axe was broken asunder.
Instantly, with his right hand, drawing his sword, he
marvellously waged the combat until the sword also was
broken. On seeing this, William de Kahamnes, a most
powerful knight, rushed upon the king, and seizing him
'

by the helmet, cried with loud voice, Hither, all of you,

come hither ! I have taken the King.' '

In the quotation from the Philippidos, above, we have

seen that the double-axe, the bipennis, was also in use at
this time. Like the mace, it is of rare occurrence in the
pictures of the day, but several representations of it
will be found in Harleian MS. 603, a Latin Psalter of
the close of the eleventh century, probably written in
France.

Among the weapons in use by the common soldiery

are the cultellus, the guisarme, the pike, the bisacuta,
the javelin, the sling, the long-bow, the cross-bow, (at
the close of the twelfth century,) and some others in
which fire was the offensive agent. The Cultellus, or

coustel, was a short sword or long dagger, well calcu-

lated for use of the foot-troops, rushing upon the knights

who had been unhorsed in the charge of the cavalry; and

equally well adapted for close fight of foot against foot.

A statute of William, king of Scotland, (11651214,)
shews the identity of the coustel and dagger " Habeat :

equum, habergeon, capitium e ferro, et cultellum qui di-

citur dagger*." In the fourteenth century, Knight on has :

i
Cap. 23.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 155

"
Cultellos, quos daggerios vulgariter dicunt, in powchiis
impositis ."
r
And Walsingham, in the fifteenth century,

writes
" Mox extracto cultello, quern
:
dagger vulgo dici-
8

mus, ictum militi minabatur ." The cultellus, like the sica
of classic times, not -only became the weapon of the de-
predator, but gave its name to that class ;
as we see from

a statute of the Count of Toulouse in 1152 : "Si quis ali-

quem hdminem malum, quern Cultellarium dicimus, cum

cultellis euntem nocte causa furandi occiderit, nullum
damnum patiatur propter hoc." The Guisarme, which
we have already noticed in the previous chapter, was
still in favour in the twelfth century, and is frequently

mentioned by the writers of this period. striking A

passage of the Philippidos brings before us a rich group
of the weapons of this day :

" Nune nunc clava caput, nunc vero bipennis

contus,
Excerebrat sed nee bisacuta, sudisve vel hasta
:

Otia vel gladius ducit." Page 213.

The contus and the sudis of these lines are pikes, of

which the particular difference from each other would be

a vain enquiry for our times. The clava (mace) and bi-

pennis have been already noticed. The Bisacuta appears

to have been an arm of the pick kind. Pere Daniel cites

from a French poet who lived in 1376, these lines:

"
Trop bien faisoit la besague
Qui est par les deux bees ague." Mil. Frang., i. 433.

The phrase, deux bees, seems to indicate a form of the

kind we have mentioned, and the exact structure of the

weapon is perhaps presented to us in the well-known

brass of Bishop "Wyvil, at Salisbury*. A letter remissory
(
i

' * l
Sub an. 1348. Hist., p. 252. Waller, part ix.
156 ANCIENT AKMOUR

of the fourteenth century appears to confirm this view :

" Le dit Hue d' un

gran martel qu' il portoit, appelle be-
sague, getta au dit Colart," &c. The head of the martel-
d' armes was constantly, on one or both sides, of this
pick or beak form. The besague was also a carpenter's
tool. Thus Wace, on the invasion of England by the
Normans, tells us :

" Li
charpentiers, ki empres vindrent,
Granz coignies en lor mains tindrent :

Doloeres e besagues
Orent a lor costez pendues." Line 11,650.

The Sling of this time

seen, though rudely may be
drawn, in the group from Add. MS. 14,789, copied in
our woodcut No. 37. Compare also cuts 12 and 50.
The Javelin is found at the close of the eleventh century ;
in the hands of the English in the Bayeux tapestry, and
in the French manuscript, Harl. 603, fol. 60. In the
twelfth century it seems to have fallen into discredit
among these nations, though probably employed to a
much later period by the Spaniards with whom it was 11

always a favourite weapon, and by those races who had

retained the rough fashions and the heroic traditions of
their Old -Northern ancestry.
The Long-bow was of the most simple construction : it

appears frequently in the Bayeux tapestry, (Plates xin.,

xv. and xvi. *) in the cotemporary manuscript, Harleian

603, and in many monuments of the twelfth century.

The arrows are usually barbed. curious variety of the A
arrow is seen in the Spanish codex, Addit. MSS. 11,695,
written in 1109. This missile, which is frequently re-

u
See Guiart, Chron. Met., pt. ii. v. 10,518, and Froissart, vol. ii.
p. 572, ed.
Buchon.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE, 157

presented in the volume, has three pairs of barbs, fixed

at a little distance from each other along the shaft ; a

cruel contrivance, which does not seem to have reached

other nations of Europe, and, we may hope, was not long
in vogue within the Pyrennees. Already in the twelfth
century the English began to evince that skill in archery
which afterwards gave them such celebrity. At the
siege of Messina by Coeur- de-Lion, as we learn from
Eichard of Devizes, the Sicilians were forced to leave
their walls unmanned,
" because no one could look out

of doors, but he would have an arrow in his eye before

he could shut it." The king himself did not disdain

occasionally to use the bow. When before the castle

of Nottingham, which had been seized by " Earl John,"
the monarch, says Eoger of Hoveden, "took up his

quarters near the castle, so that the archers therein

pierced the king's men at his very feet. The king, in-
censed at this, put on his armour, and commanded his

troops to make an assault upon the castle; on which a

sharp conflict took place, and many
fell on both sides.

The king himself slew one knight with an arrow, and

having at last prevailed, drove back his enemies into the
castle,took some outworks which had beeif thrown up
without the gates, and destroyed g^tes by th^euter
fireV
The practice of archery was encouraged and protected by
statute. the enactments of Henry, I. of England,
Among
it was provided, that if any one in practising with arrows

or with darts should by accident slay anotheV, it was not

to be visited against him as a crime 7 .

The Quivers, as represented in the Bayeux tapestry,

* Sub an. 1194. r Laws of 88.

Henry I., c.
158 ANCIENT ARMOUR

are without covers; but on folio 25 of Harl. MS. 603, is

a drawing of a quiver having a cap attached by cords, so

that when the quiver is in use, the cap remains suspended

by the strings. The dress of the archers has been already

noticed.
The Cross-bow does not appear to have been recognised
as a military weapon before the close of the twelfth cen-

tury. The term balista, by which it is described in

monkish annals and other writings, is indeed found at
an earlier period ;
but there great doubt whether
is

this earlier balista meant a hand- weapon, or one of those

"
gyns" derived from classic times. The later use of the
arm seems confirmed by the fact that it is not found
in pictorial representations till about 1200. There ap-
pears to have been an attempt to introduce it at the

beginning of this century, but it was prohibited by

papal decree as unfit for Christian warfare. council A

in 1139, under Innocent II., has " Artem illam mor- :

tiferam et Deo odibilem balistariorum et sagittariorum

adversus Christianos et Catholicos exerceri de cetero
sub anathemate prohibemus V This denunciation
was renewed under Innocent III. ;
but by this time
Eichard Coeur-de-Lion and Philippe Auguste had sanc-
tioned the use of the arm, and the cross-bow was trium-

phant. Both Guillaume le Breton and Guiart place the

introduction of the weapon at the close of the twelfth

century ;
and both tell us that Eichard was the first to

adopt it, and that Philip followed his example. Describ-

a
ing the siege of the castle of Boves, Brito says :

"
Francigenis nostris illis ignota diebus
Res erat omnino quid balistarius arcus

2
Cap. 30. Philippiclos, lib. ii.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 159

Quid nee habebat in agmine toto

balista foret,

Bex, quemquam sciret armis qui talibus uti."

And again, writing of the death of Eichard I.,

he makes
b
Atropos speak thus :

" Hac volo, non alia Richardum morte perire.

Ut qui Francigenis balistse primitus usum
Tradidit, ipse sui rem primitus experiatur,
Quamque alios docuit, in se vim sentiat artis."

Guiart has this similar passage :

" Ainsi fina

par le quarrel ,
Qu' Anglois tindrent a deshonneste,
Li rois Bichart, qui d' arbaleste

Aporta premier 1' us en France.

De son art ot mal chevance." CJiron. Metr., 1. 2644.

The form of the arbalest of this time may be seen in

our woodcut, No. 50. It was bent by placing the foot

in the loop or " stirrup" at the extremity, and then

drawing the cord upwards with the hands. At a later

period, the bow was made much stronger, and of steel,
then requiring mechanical contrivances to bend it. The
arrow of the cross-bow was shorter and stouter than that
of the long-bow. As may be
seen in our woodcut, No.

50, it was feathered; a particular which is noticed in

the Roman de Garin :
" Volent
piles pi usque pluie par pres,
Et les saiettes et carriax empennes."

This name of Carriaux (quadrelli or quarrels) was

to these missiles from the four-sided (or pyramidal) form
of the head. Thus Guillaume le Breton, speaking of\the
death of Eichard the First :

"
Quadratae cuspidis una
Pendet arundo."

c
Philippidos, lib. 5. Arrow of the cross-bow.
160 ANCIENT ARMOUR

From an ordinance of Theobald, count of Champagne, in

the next century (1256), we learn that the provision of
was " Chascun de
quarrels for a cross-bow fifty : la

commune dou Neufchastel qui aura vaillant xx. livres,

aura arbaleste en son hostel et quarraus jusqu'a cin-

quante." The arrow of the arbalest is sometimes called

vireton, from the French virer, on account of its rotary
flight. Compare the classical verutum, a javelin which
owed its name to a similar property. Though the Eng-
lish appear to have used the cross-bow from near the
close of the twelfth to the end of the thirteenth century,

in the succeeding age the long-bow obtained a signal

triumph over its rival.

In the hands of a stout soldiery, indeed, the long-bow
is a much superior weapon ;
for a dozen arrows may be
discharged while the arbalester is winding up his in-
strument and fixing a single quarrel: and the long-
bow being a vertical arm, permits a close array, which
cannot be attained with the horizontal cross-bow again, :

the long-bow is a weapon of very light carriage, while

its rival, with its thick bow of steel and its apparatus
for bending, is both ponderous and unwieldy :the size
of the quarrels also permitted only eighteen of them
to be brought by each man into the field, (" et auront
trousses empanees et cirees de dix-huit traits du moins:"
Ordinance of Charles VII. of France), while the English
archer carried " twenty-four Scotchmen under his belt."
Les arbalestriers Gennevois," says Froissart, " com-
1 i

mencerent a traire, et ces archers d' Angleterje firent

voler ces sagettes de grand' qui entrerent et
facon,
descendirent si ouniement sur ces Gennevois que ce
sembloit neige. Les Gennevois, qui n'avoient pas appris
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 1C1

a trouver tels archers que sont ceux d' Angleterre, quand

ils sentirent ces sagettes qui leur peryoient bras, tetes

d
et banlevre, furent tantot desconfits ." But to handle

the long-bow thus effectively, required a race strong in

sinew and practised in their art : to wind up and dis-

charge a cross-bow was the feat of a boy.

The Greek fire, still discountenanced among the Chris-
tian states of the West, was in frequent use with the
enemies of the Cross in the East. All the accounts of
the Crusades contain instances of employment. Of
its

the tubes from which it was discharged we have already

6
spoken. In the Bibliotheque des Croisades of M. Beinaud ,

we have the account of a variety of this incendiary agent,

from the pen of an Arabian historian of the Third Cru-
sade, Ibn Alatir. "When Acre was besieged by the
" there came town a
Christians," he tells us, into the
man of Damascus, to assist in its defence. He began by
casting upon the towers erected by the besiegers, pots
filled with naptha and other ingredients. These not
being alight, harmlessly among the Christians, who
fell

laughed at and jeered the Mussulmans for their seeming

failure. Meanwhile, the man of Damascus Waited till
the mixture had diffused itself over every part of the
tower. Then, casting forth a lighted missile, in an
instant the tower was in flames, and so rapid and so
extensive was the combustion, that the Christians had
no time to descend :
men, arms, all was consumed."
From
a curious passage of Wace we learn what were
the weapons employed by the peasantry when driven to
revolt against their lords. In describing the insurrection

d e
Chron., ed. Buchon, i. 237. Vol. iv. p. 264.

M
162 ANCIENT ARMOUR

of the "vilains" under Bichard the Second, duke of

Normandy, he makes these "baehelers de bele juvente"

exclaim :

" A machues e a grant peus,

A sajetes et as tineus,
As arcs, as haches, as gisarmes,
Et as pierres ki n' ara armes,
Od la grant genz ke nous avum,
Des chevaliers nus desfendum." Horn, de Rou, 1. 6043.

The peus, or pieux, were pikes ;

the tineus were poles
used to cany the grape-tubs at the vintage, which, when
converted into instruments of war, we may suppose were
armed with heads of iron. The idea of contention by
throwing stones is by no means a mere poetical fancy of
our author. Froissart even tells us of a victory achieved

by this means. A band of French knights and nobles

going to attack a section of the Free Companies, these
latter posted themselves on a hill, and being well pro-

vided with stones, "cast them so forcibly upon those

who approached, that they broke their bassinets, however
strong they might be, and wounded and maimed the
men-at-arms to such an extent, that none either could or
dared to advance further, however good his shield might

be, (tant bien targe qu' il fut). And this first division

was so thoroughly crushed that never again could it do

good service." Eeinforcements arriving to the Com-

"
panies, a more regular onset w&s made Que vous :

ferois-je long parlement?

De delle besogne dont vous
?
oyez parler, les Francois en eurent pour lorsle pieurV
In the manufacture of arms, the steel of Poitou had

already become celebrated. John,\ monk of Marmoustier,

who lived in the middle of the twelfth century, in de-
'
Chron., i. 547.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 163

scribing the knighting of Geoffry,duke of Normandy,

tells us that he had a lance of ash, armed with a
head of Poitou steel. Malmesbury distinguishes also
Lorraine. " At the siege of Antioch," he says,
"
Godfrey
of Bouillon, with a Lorrainian sword, cut asunder a Turk
who had demanded single combat, so that one half of the
man lay panting on the ground, while the other half was
carried off by the horse at full speed ;
so firmly did the

unbeliever keep his seat. Another also, who attacked

him, he claye asunder from the neck to the groin nor ;

did the dreadful stroke stop here, but cut entirely

through the saddle and the backbone of the horse."

Hungary had at a very early period enjoyed a celebrity
for itsweapon manufacture. Charlemagne, writing to
Offa of Mercia, offering him presents for his churches,
adds: "And your own acceptance I send a belt, a
for

Hungarian sword, and two silk mantles ."

8
The method
of hardening steel, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries,

by immersion, when red hot, in cold water, may be seen

in Theophilus Presbyter, lib. iii.
cap. 19.
The FLAGS AND STANDARDS in use during this period
were the prince's standards, the banner, the pennon, and
the small lance-flag or streamer. The consecrated standard
of William I., bestowed by the Pope, appears to be repre-
sented on the ninth plate of the Bayeux tapestry, where
it is figured of a
square form and ensigned with a cross.
It was carried near the person of "William throughout
the day by the knight Toustain "
Turstinus, filius Eol- :

lonis vexillum Normannorum portavitV

" Et Dus
quant li tournout, tournout ;

E quant arestout, arestout." Wace, 1. 13,807.

h Ordericus Vitalis, p. 501.

Malmesbury, lib. i. c. 4.

M 2
164 ANCIENT ARMOUR

It was used to indicate any danger into which the

also

leader might have fallen. Thus, when Philip Augustus

was unhorsed at the battle of Bovines, Eigord tells us
that his standard-bearer signified the king's peril by de-

pressing the Eoyal Standard several times over the spot.

The Dragon-standard, of which we have seen some ex-
amples in our first division, is found among the
still

Germans and the English. We have already observed

itsexact form in the pictures of Harold in the Bayeux

tapestry. It accompanied the hosts of Eichard Coeur-de-

Lion. Eichard of Devizes, in recording the attack upon

"
the Griffones" at Messina, says " The king of England :

proceeded in arms the terrible standard of the Dragon

:

is borne in front ; while, behind the king, the sound of

the trumpet excites the army 1 ." Hoveden, under date
us that Eichard "
1191, tells delivered his Dragon (Draco-
nem suum) to be borne by Peter de Pratellis." Guil-
laume le Breton, in the Philippidos, gives to the Emperor
Otho a standard formed of a dragon and an eagle.
"
Erigit in carro palum, paloque Draconem.
Implicat, ut possit procul hinc atque inde videri,
Hauriat et ventos cauda tumefactus et alls,
Dentibus horrescens rict usque patentis hiatu,
Quern super aurata volucer Jovis imminet ala."

Guiart has a similar passage ; adding that the Dragon of

the emperor
" Vers
France ot la gueule baee,
Pour le reaume chalengier,
Come s'il deust tout mangier.
Cis Dragons soustint la Banniere
Des connoissances 1'
emperiere,

1
Sub an. 1190.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 165

Qu'il porte au bel et a lore.

Desus ot un Aigle dore :

C'est signe de guerre cuisant"

The Car-standard, or Carrocium, of the English king

Stephen has already been noticed in the sketch of the

battle of Cnton Moor, (p. 107.) The Carrocio of the
Milanese was still regarded as their Palladium.
Banners were carried by knights banneret, by the
Church Advocati, and by the Town troops, or Communi-
tates Parochiarum. The knight's banner, as we have
already seen, was square and, as soon as heraldic de-
;

vices became settled, was ensigned with the bearing of

the leader to whom it belonged. Its especial use was to

muster and to rally the troops of the banneret :

" Cil treis orent treis

gunfanuns,
A ralier lur cumpaingnuns." 2tom. de Hou, i. 337.

Bishops and abbots appointed knights to defend their

possessions, to lead their contingent, and to fight under
their banner. These advocati in time made their office

hereditary. The Counts of Yexin were the avoues of the

Abbey of St. Denis, and the lands of Yexin coming into
the possession of the kings of France, these monarchs

acquired the office of bannerers of the abbey. Thus the

plain red flag of St. Denis became, under the name of
the Oriflamme, the most distinguished banner of the
French monarchy.
"
L' Oriflamme est une Banniere,
Aucun poi plus forte que guimple :

De cendal roujoyant et simple,

Sans pourctraiture d'autre affaire." Q. Guiart.

It was Louis Gros who united the county of Yexin

le

to the crown of France k .

"
Renault, i. 179.
166 ANCIENT ARMOUR

A very curious variety of the knightly banner occurs

on the twelfth plate of the Bayeux tapestry ; the flag is
semicircular, is ensigned with a bird within a bordure,
and has a fringe at the edge. Mr. Worsaae has suggested
that this bird, which appears on the Norman side, may
be the Eaven of the Old-Northmen, retained by their
descendants in honour of the deeds of their forefathers.
The banners of the communal troops bore the effigies
of Saints, each parish gathering round the flag on which
its particular saint was portrayed. This usage was as old
" Tune
as the time of Louis VI. of France ergo commu-
:

nitas in Francia popularis instituta est a prsesulibus, ut

presbyteri commitarentur Eegi ad obsidionem vel pugnam

cum Vexillis et parochianis omnibus ." 1

The word Gonfanon, Guntfano, so frequently occurring

in the writings of this period, seems to be indifferently

applied to the leader's standard, the knightly banner, and

the lance-flag. It has been derived from the German

and Fahne, vexillum; or from Fahne

Jcunden, indicare,
and the Old-Scandinavian Gunna, proelium. Mr. Kemble
inclines to the latter derivation ;
see glossary to Beoivulf,
in v. G-uth. A capitulary of Charles the Bald gives the
name of Gonfanon to the banner of the Church vassals :

"Let our envoys (missi nostri) see that the troops of

every bishop, abbot, and abbess, march forth properly
equipped, and with their Gonfalonier (cum Guntfannon-
ario)." The standard sent by the pope to "William the

Conqueror is by "Wace named a gonfanon :

"
L'Apostoile
Un gonfanon li enveia." Line 11,450.

1
Ord. Vitalis, lib. xi.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 167

He gives it also to the barons and more powerful cap-

tains :

" N' i a riche home ne baron

Ki son gonfanon
n' ait lez lui ;

TJ gonfanon u autre enseigne,

U il se maisnie m
restraigne."

In the following passages, it is the lance-flag :

" Les lances

bessent, o sont li gonfanon." Rom. de Garin.
"
Baisse la lance ou li gonfanon pent." Rom.
cTAubery.
" Moult si siest
bien au col la lance au gonfanon."
Rom. de Duguesclin.

The Pennon, we have before seen, (p. 95,) was the

as

flag of those knights who had not attained to the dignity

of banneret. It appears to have terminated in a point
or points, but its exact form at this period has not been
ascertained. It probably differed in nothing but its size
from the lance-flags seen in the Bayeux tapestry and on
the seals and other monuments of the eleventh and
twelfth centuries. "Wace, however, in the following pas-
sage, seems to use the word in a more general sense ; for
it is the Vicomte du
Cotentin, lieutenant of the duke of
Normandy, of whom he is speaking :

" Les li fist un penun porter,

U lur gent pussent recuvrer." Rom. de Row, 1. 7839.

If these various flags were found sufiicient to keep to-

gether the troops of an ordinary expedition ; in large ar-

maments such as those of the Crusades, the want of some
more general distinction must soon have been felt. Hove-
den therefore tells us, under the year 1188, that the
leaders against the Saracens, " for the purpose of recog-

nising their various nations, adopted distinguishing signs

01
His retainers ; from mansio.
168 ANCIENT ARMOUR

for themselves and their people. For the king of France

and his people wore red crosses the king of England ;

and his people, white crosses while ; Philip, earl of

Flanders, and his followers, wore green crosses." The

existence of a mode of recognition among troops at this
period confirmed by the passage of Wace in which
is

he names the " cognoissances" of the Norman host and

their allies :

" E tuit orent fet cognoissances,

Ke Normant altre coneust,
Et k'entreposture n'eust.
Ke Normant altre ne ferist,
Ne Franceiz altre n' oceist." Line 12,816.

The particular nature of the sign of recognition intended

by the chronicler, it is in vain now to inquire. The note
"
of M. Pluquet on the passage gives Signes de conven-
tion."

The Lance-flag is found throughout the period now

under Many examples occur in the Bayeux ta-
notice.

pestry, and in the royal and baronial seals of the time.

The usual device upon it is a cross, a square, a number
of rounds, or stripes of different colours ; or the streamer
is of a single tint. It is dentated in two or more cuts,

and sometimes fringed at the edge. See our engraved

examples.
The Musical Instruments used in war were the horn,
the trumpet, and a variety of the latter called the graisle.
Wace mentions all these in his account of the battle of

Hastings :

" Dez ke li dous ost n s' entrevirent,

Grant noise e grant temulte firent.

Mult o'issiez graisles soner,

E boisines e cors corner." Line 13,135.

" les deux osts.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 169

The horn of battle of this period is very clearly figured

on folio 25 of Harleian MS. 603, a work of the close of
the eleventh century. It is of the common semicircular
form. The trumpet (boisine buccina) is found, though
:

in a monument of somewhat later date, on the inscribed

"
slab of Godefrey le Troumpour," now preserved in the
library of the London Guildhall Compare also our .

woodcut, No. 73. The graisle (from gracilis) was, as its

name indicates, of a slender form its exact fashion has ;

not been ascertained.

The Horse-furniture presents some new features ; espe-
cially in the arming of the steed in chain-mail, a practice
which appears to have originated towards the close of the
twelfth century. Wace indeed tells us that "William

Fitz-Osbert, at the field of Hastings, rode a steed thus

accoutred :

" Tint Willame li filz Osber,

Son cheval tot covert de fer." Line 12,627.

But we may well believe that it was rather the necessity

of a rhyme to " Osber" than the usage of the period, that
gives us this iron horse at so early a date. Wace, writ-
ing in the second half of the twelfth century, appears
merely to have availed himself of the usual license of
middle-age authorities : to depict a past generation in the

lineaments of his own. The practice of arming the horse

does not seem to have become general till towards the
close of the thirteenth century. pictorial example of A
the trapper of chain-mail will be found in our woodcut,
No. 86. The Saddle had a high pommel and cantle, as
may be seen in our engravings of the royal seals of this

Eugraved in Boutell's Christian Mouum., pt. i.

p. 100.
170 ANCIENT AKMOUR

period. In many examples of the Bayeux tapestry they

form volutes, (viewed laterally,) exactly like the sides of
an Ionic capital. The saddle-cloth does not appear in
this tapestry, but found on the second seal of Henry
it is

L, on the seal of King Stephen, and on that of Louis

VII. of France. In these examples it is quite plain but
later it acquires an ornamental character, as in the seal

of Conan, duke of Britanny, c. 1165, (woodcut 41). It is

of a more enriched pattern in the Great Seal of Henry

IL, here given.

SECOND SEAL OP KING H.ENKY II.

No. 44.

From Wace we learn that the girths and breastplate

were named, in the "Komance" of that day, tingles and

poitrail :
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 171
" Li
peitral del cheval rompi,
E li dui cengles altresi." Rom. de Rou }
1. 14,674.

This poitrail has generally, in the period under examin-

ation, pendants attached to it,

in the form of rounds,

perhaps grelots. See woodcuts 1, 25, 28 and 29.

Eoman monuments examples, as in Tra-
offer similar

jan's Column, the Pillar of Antonine,

and other remains,
where the pendants are bells, crescents, trefoils, rounds,
and guttae. Such collars are found also in the paintings
of the Ajunta Caves, where bells and rounds alternate.
This monument is assigned to the first century of our
era. In the curious Spanish manuscript, dated 1109, in
the British Museum, Addit. MSS., 11,695, the circular

pendants occur, attached not only to the poitrail, but to

the saddle (fol. 223). The Bits used for the war-horse
have long cheeks, which are often of an ogee form. The
rein is generally quite plain, though sometimes orna-
mented with studs, as in examples in the manuscript
last cited.

The Spur was still of a single goad, and fastened by a

single strap. The form of the goad offers some variety :

it is leaf-shaped, conical, lozenge -shaped, and sometimes

consists of a ball from which springs a short spike. A
variety fashioned
is into a sort of button, having a slender

spike in the centre. The first three kinds are seen in the
Bayeux tapestry and many of the seals of the period.
The ball-and-spike spur is well shewn in the effigies
of Henry II. and Eichard I. at Fontevraud, figured by
Stothard in his " Monuments." The last variety may
be seen in Addit. MS. 11,695, fol. 223. The shank of
the spur is sometimes straight, as in Anglo-Saxon times :

sometimes curved. The curved .form appears in the

172 ANCIENT ARMOUR

sculptured effigies of King Henry II. and Bichard I.

The spur of Kichard the First seerns to have been at-

tached to the strap by rivets.

The Caltrop, or tribulus, an instrument derived from
classic times, was in but not of frequent employ-
use,
ment. Anna Comnena tells us that the Emperor Alexis
strewed them in the path of the French cavalry; and
at a later period, we read of knights fixing their spurs

point upwards in the way of their advancing enemy, after

the manner of caltrops : but this cruel device appears to

have been practised very rarely, and we may venture to .

believe that it was generally discountenanced as beneath

the dignity and generosity of true chivalry. At a later

period, caltrops were used to strew over the slope of a

breach, to impede the advance of a storming party.

From a very curious passage in the Roman de Ron, we
learn that the knight sometimes went to battle tied to his

saddle :

" Li reis aveit

un soldeier,
Brun out nom, novel chevalier.
Sor son cheval sist noblement,

Apareillie mult riehement.

A sa sele fu atachiez,
E par li coisses fii liez," &c. Line. 16,064.

However strange such a device may appear, the mention

of it by other ancient writers forbids us to regard it as
a mere vagary of the poet. Matthew Paris, under the
year 1243, recounting the irruption of the Tartars into
"
Europe, says They have horses, not large, but very
:

strong, and that require but little food, and they bind
themselves firmly on their backs." And, in the fif-
teenth century, the writer of the life of Earl Eichard
of Warwick tells us that, at a justing-match, his hero
 AND WEAPONS IN EUKOPE. 173

was obliged to dismount from his horse, because some

of his adversaries had accused him of being tied in his
saddle.
For the Horse Spain appears to have been in
itself,
the highest favour for the purity of its breed. "Walter
Giffard had brought from Gallicia the steed on which
Duke William rode at the field of Hastings :

" Sun boen cheval fist dernander.

Ne poeit Ten meillor trover.

D'Espaigne li out enveie

Un E-eis, par mult grant amistie.
Armes ne presse ne dotast,
Se sis Sires
1'esperonast.
Galtier Giffart Tout amene,
Ki a Saint Jame aveit este." Horn, de Itou, 1.
12,673.

And in the well-known passage of the Monk of Mar-

moustier, where he describes the knighting of Geoffry,
duke of Normandy, we are told that the young hero was
"mounted upon a Spanish horse, which had been pre-
sented by the king."
How the horses of the knights were conveyed in ships
and disembarked from the vessels, is curiously shewn in
the ninth and tenth plates of the Bayeux tapestry.
Of the ENGINES employed in sieges, all those men-
tioned in our first division appear to have been still in
use, The ancient Vinea (Cat
or Sow) is frequently men-

tioned, and the moveable Tower, or Be/roi, becomes a

prominent feature in all the great siege operations of
this century. William of Malmesbury has left us an
excellent description of these two contrivances in his
account of the siege of Jerusalem p :

" There was one

engine which we call the Sow, the

f Sub anno 1099.

 174 ANCIENT ARMOUR

ancients, Vinea; because the machine, which is con-

structed of slight timbers, the roof covered with boards
and wicker-work, and the sides defended with undressed
hides, protects those who are within; who, after the

manner of a sow, proceed to undermine the foundations

of the walls. There was another, which, for want of
timber, was but a moderate -sized tower, constructed
after the manner of houses. They call it Berefreid q .

This was intended to equal the walls in height. And

now the fourteenth day of July arrived, when some

began undermine the wall with the Sows, others to

to

move forward the Tower. To do this more conveniently,

they took it toward the works in separate pieces r and ,

putting it together again at such a distance as to be out

of bowshot, advanced on wheels nearly close to the
it

wall. Meantime the slingers with stones, the archers

with arrows, and the crossbow-men with bolts, each in-
tent on his own department, began to press forward and
dislodge their opponents from the ramparts. Soldiers,

too, unmatched in courage, ascend the Tower, waging

nearly equal war against the enemy with missile wea-

pons and with stones. Nor indeed were our foes at
all remiss, but trusting their whole security to their

valour, they poured down boiling grease and oil upon

the Tower, and slung stones on the soldiers, rejoicing in
the completion of their desires by the destruction of
multitudes. During the whole of that day the battle
was such that neither party seemed to think they had
been worsted. On the following, the business was de-
cided : for the Franks, becoming more experienced from

i r
Berfredus, belfredus, beffroi. See Compare Froissart, vol. ii.
p. 444,

Ducange and Adelung. ed. Buchon.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 175

the event of the attack of the preceding day, threw

faggots flaming with oil on a tower adjoining the wall,

and on those who defended it; which, blazing by the
action of the wind, first seized the timber, and then the
stones, and drove off the garrison. Moreover, the beams
which the Turks had left hanging down from the walls,
in order that, being forcibly drawn back, they might, by
their recoil, batter the Tower in pieces, in case it should
advance too near, were by the Franks dragged to them,
by cutting away the ropes; and being placed from the
engine to the wall, and covered with hurdles, they
formed a bridge of communication from the Tower to
the ramparts. Thus what the infidels had contrived
for their defence, became the means of their destruc-

tion; then the enemy, dismayed by the smoking

for

masses of flame, and by the courage of our soldiers,

began to give way. These, advancing on the wall, and

thence into the city, manifested the excess of their joy

by the strenuousness of their exertions."

William of Tyre mentions also the use of the beffroi at
the siege of Jerusalem ; adding that the side towards the

city was so constructed that a portion of it might be let

down, after the manner of a drawbridge, thus enabling
the assailants to enter upon the walls 5 .
Philippe Au-
guste frequently employed this engine. At the siege of
Chateau-Boux, in Berry,
" Cratibus et B
lignis rudibus elfragio, surgunt
Turribus alta magis et moenibus." Pliilippidos, lib. ii.

And again, at the siege of Eadepont, in Normandy:

"Erectis in circuitu Turribus ligneis ambulatoms, aliisque
tormentis quam plurimis viriliter impugnavit et ccepitV*
*
Lib. viii. c. 12. Rigord.
176 ANCIENT ARMOUR

King Eicliard constructed also in Sicily a wooden

I.

tower, which, he afterwards carried with him ,to the

Holy Land. After forcing the city of Messina, "the
"
king," says Eichard of Devizes, having but little confi-
dence in the natives, built a new wooden tower of great

strength and height by the walls of the city, which, to

the reproach of the Griffones, (Greeks,) he called Mate-

griffun," (sub an. 1190). In 1191, "the king of Eng-

land, about to leave Sicily, caused the tower which he

had built to be taken down, and stowed the whole of the
materials in his ships, to take along with him." And
" on the third
day after his arrival at the siege of Acre,"
continues Eichard of Devizes, ."the king caused his
wooden tower, which he had named Mate-griffun' when
f

it was made in Sicily, to be built and set up and before

;

the dawn of the fourth day the machine stood erect by

the walls of Acre, and from its height looked down upon
the city beneath. And by sunrise were thereon archers
casting missiles without ceasing against the Turks and
Thracians."
The name Mate-griffon appears to be derived from the
favourite game of the courtly in these days; "donner
eschec et mat" being equivalent to the "check-mate" of
our modern chess-players. Ordericus Yitalis has a pas-
" Castrum
sage curiously illustrative of this subject :

condere coepit, quod Mataputenam, id est, devincens

meretricem, pro despectu Haduissae Comitissse, nuncu-
pavitV
In 1160, the Emperor Frederick besieging Crema, in

Italy, employed the beffroi, filling it with chosen troops.

Lib. xii.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 177

He placed crossbowmen on the upper story, in order that,

shooting down upon the walls, they might clear the para-
pet of its defenders ; while, from the lower stage, soldiers
of tried boldness might fix their drawbridges on the
x
wall, and advance to the capture of the city .

At this same city of Crema, in 1159, occurred an act

of patriotism, admirable from the resolution which inspired

though terrible in its consequences. The emperor ad-

it,

vanced a Beffroi towards the beleaguered city, in front

of which he placed the youthful hostages whom he had
obtained from the unhappy Cremans, in hopes of thus

forcing the inhabitants to a capitulation. But the citizens,

regardless of all save their liberty, continued to ply their
engines against the tower, though every stone that was
cast forth fell in death among their children 7 .

The siege of Ancona, in 1174, offers another instance

of heroism in connection with the belfragium, more pleas-

ing in its circumstances. The besieged had been suc-

cessful in their endeavours to beat back the towers and
scatter their occupants ; but as these latter still kept
up
a steady discharge of missiles from a short distance, no
one dared venture beyond the walls to set fire to the de-
serted structures. At last a widow named STAMURA,
seizing a torch, advanced into the plain, and regardless
of the storm of bolts and arrows that fellaround her,
steadily achieved the task she had undertaken, and hav-
ing set the towers in flames, returned in safety to the
city \
The siege of Ancona is further remarkable for the em-

ployment by the citizens of divers ;

who succeeded in cap-

*
Radevicus Frising., 2
lib. ii. c. 59. Boncompagni Obsidio Anconse, cap.
y 47.
Ibid., lib. ii. c. iv. p. 931.

N
178 ANCIENT ARMOUR

turing several of the vessels engaged in blockading the

port. Taking advantage of a strong wind blowing from
the sea, the divers contrived to cut the cables of seven of
the Yenetian ships, which then drifted helplessly ashore a .

The Vinea mentioned a foregoing extract from

in

Malmesbury, was called also the Cat. Thus Vegetius :

" Yineas dixerunt

veteres, quas mine militari barbarico-
que usu Cattos vocantV Guillaume
7
le Breton also men-
tions this machine and its use :

" Hue faciuut reptare Catum, tectique sub illo

Suffodiunt murum." Philipp., lib. vii.

While, from the Monk of Yau-de-Cernay we learn that

the contrivance was of small dimensions: "Machinam

quandam parvam, quse lingua vulgari Catus dicitur, facie-

bat duci ad suifodiendum murum
There were, how- c
."

ever, varieties of the Cat, one of which was used to op-

pose the besiegers in the befrroi. Thus Eadevicus:
"
Magnaque audacia, super muros et in suis machinis quos
Cattas appellant, operiuntur, et cum (oppugnatores) ad-
mo verentur pontes, ipsi eos vel occuparent, vel dej ice-
rent, murumque scalis ascendere nitentes vario modo de-
d
terrent ." And
another kind was employed by the as-
6
sailants in crossing the ditch .

The Battering-ram, according to Eichard of Devizes,

was employed by Cceur-de-Lion at the siege of Messina :

" In the
meantime, the king with his troops approached
the gates of the city, which he instantly forced by the

application of the Battering-ram, and entering within,

took possession of every part, even to Tancred's palace

a d 63.
Obsid. Anconae, c. iv. p. 931. Lib. iv. c.

b
Lib. iv. c. 15. See Adelung in v. Cahis.
c
Hist. Albig., cap. xlii.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 179

and the lodgings of the French around their king's quar-

ters, which he spared out of respect to the king."

Among the
stone-throwing machines, the Mangona and
the Mangonella are discriminated as casting, the former

large, the latter smaller stones. The monk Abbo has

already, in his account of the siege of Paris in 886, men-
tioned the

Mangana-
Saxa quibus jaciunt ingentia"

Guillaume le Breton, in the Philippidos, tells us :

"
Interea grosses Petraria mittit ab intus
Assidue lapides, Mangonellusque minores."

Among the effects recorded of these great projectiles,

we may cite the account of Otto of Frisinga, who tells us
that when the Emperor Frederic attacked Tortona in
1155, a stone was cast from one of the periers of such
magnitude, that, falling before the door of the cathedral,
where three of the principal citizens were in deliberation
on the best means of defending the city, it killed them
f
all .

The term mangonneaux is sometimes applied to the

stones or other missiles discharged by the instrument.
From the name mangona our word gun appears to be
derived: a supposition that seems strengthened by the
fact that the earliest "
gonnes," like the mangonae, were
employed to cast stones.
The terrors of the balistse were occasionally aggra-
vated by their being made the instruments of a special

vengeance. Thus Malmesbury informs us that, at the

siege of Antioch in 1097, the Turks, irritated by losses

f
De Gestis Frid., lib. ii. c. 17.

N 2
180 ANCIENT ARMOUR

sustained from the besieging Crusaders, " wreaked their

indignation on the Syrian and Armenian inhabitants

of the city; throwing, by means of their balistse and

petraries, the heads of those whom they had slain into

the camp of the Franks, that by such means they might
lacerate their feelings." A somewhat similar incident is
reported by Froissart in his account of the siege of Thun

FEveque in 1327 g ;
so that these cruelties do not appear

to be mere tales of credulous pilgrims, or inventions of

monkish chroniclers.

Forts of wood were of occasional employment, the

materials of which were transported from place to place,
so that the structure might be speedily raised. Wace
gives us a description of that brought over by William
the Conqueror, and built up at Hastings :

" Done ont des nes mairrien h

gete,
A la terre 1'ont trame,
Trestut percie e tut dole :

Li cheviles tutes dolees

Orent en granz bariz portees :

Ainz ke il fust bien avespre,

En ont un chastelet ferme." Line 11,658.

Mines were in use both by Eichard I. and Philippe

Auguste. At the siege of Acre in 1191, Eichard attacked
the city with archers and balistae " But more
important
:

than these," adds Devizes, "were the miners, making

themselves a way beneath the ground, sapping the foun-
dation of the walls, while soldiers bearing shields, having

planted ladders, sought an entrance over the ramparts."

The French king employed the mine at the siege of the
Castle of Boves, as we learn from William the Breton.

* Vol. h The
i.
p. 102. timbers.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 181

See also Bigord, page 185. The mines of these days

were large caverns in which pillars of wood supported
the incumbent mass. The posts being smeared with
pitch and surrounded with combustibles, fire was then
brought, and the stanchions being consumed, the walls
fell in. "With the mine came the counter-mine ;
an ex-
ample of which occurs in the description by Guillaume
le Breton of the siege of Chateau- Gaillard where the ;

English, countermining against the French, met them

in their works and drove them back with slaughter :

" Suffodiunt murum. Sed non minus hostis ab ilia

Parte minare studet factoque foramine nostros

Eetro minatores telis compellit abire." PJiilipp., lib. vii.

Later, challenges were made, to be fought out in the

mines, the combatants
contending over a barrier of
wood fixed in the midst. And Upton tells us that the
aspirant to knighthood in a besieging army, no church
being at hand, performed in the mine his vigil of arms.
While the besieging force plied their attack by means
of the engines and mines already noticed, they had be-
gun, in imitation of the ancients, to construct lines of
circumvallation ; in order at once to cut off the citizens
from all communication with the open country, and to
defend themselves against the sorties of the town. An

example of this may be seen in the siege of Crema by

the Emperor Frederic in 1159*.
Under the general name of Hastilude (spear-play)
were in use several kinds of MILITARY EXERCISES the :

"
joust, the tourney and
the behourd. Torneamenta,
justas, burdeicias, sive alia HastiludaV The joust and

1
Radevicus Frising., lib. ii.
k
Charta Edw. I. apud Prynne, cited by Ducange.
183 ANCIENT ARMOUR

the tourney were, in their primary sense, mere modes of

attack. The joust was the charge of a single horseman
against a single antagonist. The tourney was the onset
of a troop, who, having made their charge, turned back
to acquire the necessary speed for a fresh attack. At
the siege of Eouen
" Mult voissiez, forment armez, issir Normanz,
Querre tornoiement e joste demandanz,
E joster e ferir de lances e de branz."
Horn, de Row, i.
p. 209.

Again, at the siege of Mount Saint-Michael,

"
Mult veissiez joster sovent,
E tomeier espessement
* * &

Chescun jor, al no retraiant,

Vunt chevaliers jostes menant." IUd^ ii.
p. 314.

The Behourd (Bohordicum) was an exercise with lance

and target, of which the distinctive character has not
been ascertained. "Trepidare quoque, quod vulgariter
Uordare dicitur, cum scuto et lancea aliquis clericus pub-
lice non attentet 1
."

Military games, whose object was to familiarize the

soldier in time of peace with the usages of
war, had
been long known. They were practised in classic times :

they were in vogue, as Tacitus tells us, among the an-

cient Germans
they were pursued in Germany, as we
:

learn from Mthard m in the ninth But that

century.
,

splendid and costly image of battle called a Tournament

is not found earlier than the
epoch which we are now
considering. Several nations lay claim to its invention,
but none such good proofs as" the French. The
offer

Chronicle of Tours expressly says, under the

year 1066 :

Concilium Albiense, cap. xv. m Lib. iii.

p. 27.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 183

" Gaufridus de Pruliaco

(Preulli), qui torneamenta in-

venit, apud Andegavum occiditur." And the Chronicle

of St. Martin of Tours has a similar passage: "Anno
Henrici Imp. VII. et Philippi Eegis VI. fuit proditio

apud Andegavum, ubi Gaufridus de Pruliaco et alii

barones occisi sunt. Hie Gaufridus torneamenta in-

venit." Matthew Paris, again, names the tournament

" conflictus Gallicus."
And Ealph of Coggeshall has :

"Dum, more Francorum, cum hastis vel contis sese

cursim equitantes vicissim impeterent."
Tournaments seem to have first obtained favour in
11

England in the troublous times of Stephen They were, .

however, discountenanced by Henry II., and the young

aspirants to military renown were forced to seek in

other lands the opportunity of distinguishing them-
selves. "Tyronum exercitiis in Anglia prorsus inhi-
bitis, qui forte armorum gloriam exerceri
affectantes

volebant, transfretantes, in terrarum exercebantur con-

finiis ." Under Eichard I. they again began to flourish,
and from that time end of the middle ages,
to the

though often discountenanced by kings and churchmen,

they enjoyed the highest favour among all who prac-
tised or admired knightly deeds and military splendour.
" After the return of
King Eichard to England," says
Jocelin of Brakelond, under the year 11 94,
" licence was

granted for holding tournaments; for which purpose

many knights met between Thetford and St. Edmund's,
but the Abbot forbade them. They, however, in spite
of the Abbot, fulfilled their desire. On another occasion,
there came fourscore young men with their followers,
sons of noblemen, to have their revenge at the aforesaid

n
See William of Newbury, lib. v. cap. 4.

Newbury. This is confirmed by llovtxlen.

184 ANCIENT ARMOUR

place which being done, they returned into the town

;

to put up there. The Abbot hearing of this, ordered

the gates to be locked, and all of them to be kept
within. The next day was the vigil of Peter and Paul
the Apostles. Therefore, having promised that they
would not go forth, they all dined with the Abbot on
that day. But, after dinner, the Abbot having retired
to his chamber, they all arose and began to carol and
sing, sending into the town for wine, drinking and then
screeching, depriving the Abbot and convent of their
sleep, and doing everything in scorn of the Abbot;
spending the day, until the evening, in this manner,
and refusing to desist, even when the Abbot commanded
them. "When the evening was come, they broke open
the gates of the town and went forth bodily. The
Abbot, indeed, solemnly excommunicated then?, all, yet
not without having first consulted Hubert, at that time

justiciary; and many of them came, promising amend-

ment and seeking absolution."
The more regular tournaments, however, were con-
trolledby royal ordinances. They were restricted in

England to five localities :

namely, between Sarum and
Wilton, between Warwick and Kenilworth, between
Stamford and Wallingford, between Brakeley and Mixe-

berg, and between Blie and Tykehill. And, as nothing

in these days could be done without a fine to the king
or a tax to the pope, every earl had to pay twenty marks
for his privilege to appear as a ;
combatant
every baron,
ten; every knight having a landed estate, four; each

knight without such estate, two ;

and all foreigners were
excluded 15
.

In France, under Philip Augustus, tournaments appear

P Harl. MS. 69.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 185

tohave been held on a large scale, as Pere Daniel has re-

marked, from the incident of Philip having suddenly pro-
cured at an assemblage of this kind, troops sufficient to
q
repel an unexpected attack on Alencon .
It is not within the province (if it were in the limits)
of this work, to give any detailed account of tournaments
and their usages for at this period and long after, the
;

defensive armour used for the joust (as shewn by the

pictorial monuments of the time) differed in no respect

1
from that worn in battle .

In the curious sketch of London in the twelfth cen-

tury by Fitzstephen, an eye-witness of the incidents he

records, we have a spirited notice of the military
exer-
"
cises of the young citizens in these days. Every
Sunday in Lent, after dinner, a company of young men
go into the fields, mounted on war-horses :

in equis certamine primis :

each of which

Aptus et in gyros currere doctus equus.

The lay sons of the citizens rush out of the gates in

crowds, equipped with lances and shields (lanceis et

scutis militaribus) ; the more youthful with blunt spears ;

and they engage in sham fights and exercise themselves

in military combats. When the king happens to be
near the city, most of the courtiers attend, and the

varlets (ephebi) of the households of earls and barons

who have not yet attained knighthood, resort thither
to try their skill. The hope of victory animates every

i Milice fran., i. 124. Thurnierluch of Riixner and Feyera-

r
All that may be desired on this sub- bend, and of Schlichtegroll, Champol-
ject will be found in St. Palaye's Me- lion's Tournois du roi Rene, Maximilian's

moires snr I'ancienne Chevalerie, the Triumph, Ducange's notes to Joinville

treatises of Mnestrier, La Colombiere, and article in Glossary, Adelung in v.
Honorg de Sainte-Marie, Favin, the Tornecmentum, and Strutt's Sports.
186 ANCIENT ARMOUR

one. The spirited horses neigh; their limbs tremble;

they champ the bit ; impatient of delay, they fret and

paw the ground. When at length

sonipedum rapit ungula cursum,

the young riders, having been divided into companies,

some pursue their fellows, but are unable to overtake
them; others push their companions out of the course
and gallop beyond them.
"In the Easter holidays they have a game resem-

bling a naval conflict. A

target is fastened to a post
in the middle of the river: in the prow of a boat,
driven along by oars and the current, stands a young
man who is to strike the target with his lance if, in:

hitting he break his lance and keep his position un-

it,

moved, he gains his point, his wish is fulfilled ; but if

his lance be not broken by the blow, he is tumbled into
the river and his boat passes by. Two boats, however,
are placed there, one on each side of the target, and in
them a number of young men, to take up the tilter when
he emerges from the stream. On the bridge and in
chambers by the river-side, stand the spectators :

inultum ridere parati.

"During the Summer holidays the young men exer-

cise themselves in leaping, in archery, wrestling, stone-

throwing, casting javelins beyond a mark, and in fight-

ing with shields."
In the Winter, skaters, "binding under their feet the
shin-bones of some animal, take in their hands poles shod
with iron, which they strike against the ice, and
at times
are thus carried along with the
rapidity of a bird on the
wing, or a bolt discharged from a cross-bow. Sometimes
two of the skaters having by mutual agreement placed
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 187

themselves far apart, come together from opposite sides :

they meet, and with their poles strike each other one :

or both fall, not without some bodily hurt: even after

their fall, they are carried along to a great distance from
each other by the velocity of the motion and whatever ;

part of their heads comes in contact with the ice, is laid

bare to the very skull. Frequently the leg or arm of
the person who falls, if he chance to light on either,
is broken. But youth is an age eager for glory and
desirous of victory :
thus, in order to distinguish them-
selves in real fight, these tyros contend with so much
boldness in counterfeit battle."

Amongthe exercises glanced at in this sketch of the

Londoner's sportive year, the Quintain is conspicuous.
This was especially the game of the " non-noble," and

might be practised either on horseback or on foot. The

more ancient quintain was merely a post or a shield
fixed on a pole, which the tyro attacked in lieu of a

living antagonist. But a new element was soon given

to the quintain, which at once brought it into favour

with the populace : it was so contrived as to inflict sum-

mary punishment on the inexpert. To one kind, a bag
of sand was fastened, which, whirling round from the
force of the blow struck at the opposite end, buffeted
the tilter who was not expeditious enough to get out
of its way. Others were made in the form of a Turk,
armed with sword and shield; and these, moving on a
pivot as before, inflicted a smart blow on the lagging
assailant. In another variety, a large tub of water was
fixed on a post, which discharged its contents on the

person of any clumsy j ouster. Other kinds are described

and figured in Strutt's Sports. And in the little village
of Offham, in Kent, may still be seen an example of the
188 ANCIENT ARMOUR

quintain, which is fixed " opposite to the dwelling-house

s
of the estate, which is bound to it ." It now
keep up
consists of a post, having a cross-piece moving on a
pivot, terminating at one end with a broad perforated

board, and at the other with a pendent log of wood.

The however, seems to have been substituted for
log,
a "bag of sand," which is mentioned in old accounts
of this relic.
"Besides the practice of feats of arms," says John
of Salisbury, writing in the reign of "the
Henry II.,

young knight should qualify himself for the duties of

his station by variety of toil and exemplary abstinence.
a
From the beginning he must learn to labour, run, carry

heavy weights, and bear the sun and dust he must use :

sparing and rustic food he must accustom himself to

:

live in tents, or in the open air."

Then, turning upon
the luxurious and effeminate knights of his day, he up-
braids them in a diatribe which gives us a singular
"
picture of the manners of this age. Some," he says,
"think that military glory consists in the display of

elegant dress, in wearing their clothes tight to the body,

so binding on their linen or silken garments that they

seem a skin coloured like their flesh. Sitting softly on

their ambling horses, they think themselves many so

Apollos. If you make an army of them, you will have

the camp of Thais, not of Hannibal. Each is boldest in
the banqueting-hall, but in the battle every one desires
to be the last
they would rather assail the enemy with
:

arrows than come to close fighting. Eeturning home

without a they sing triumphantly of their battles,
scar,
and boast of the thousand deaths that wandered near
their temples. If diligent idleness can procure any
8
Hasted's Kent.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 189

spears, which, being brittle as hemp, should chance to

be broken in the field; a piece of gold, minium, or
if

any colour of the rainbow, by any chance or blow should

fall out of their shields ;
their garrulous tongues would
make it an everlasting memorial. They have the first

places at supper. They feast every

day splendidly, if
they can afford it, but shun labour and exercise like a

dog or a snake. Whatever is surrounded with difficulty,

they leave to those who serve them. In the meantime,

they so gild their shields, and so adorn their tents, that
you would think each one, not a learner, but a chieftain
1
of war ."

*
Polycraticus, 181.

PORCHESTER CASTLE, HAMPSHIRE.

Built a!: out 1150.

No. 45.
192 ANCIENT ARMOUR [PLATE XL VI.

KNIGHTLY EFFIGY IN HASELEY CHURCH, OXFORDSHIRE.

 PAET III.

THIRTEENTH CENTURY.

THE authorities which, throughout the last division of

our inquiry have served us as guides seals, vellum-

paintings, metal-chasings, ivory-carvings,

and the writings
of chroniclers and poets are still available to us but :

in the thirteenth century a new and most valuable source

of information is offered by the numerous knightly effigies

which are found in cathedral and chantry, in wayside

chapel and lofty monastery. These sepulchral figures, of
the proportions of life, are of especial value to the student
of military costume, permitting him to follow his inquiry
into the minutest detail. Not a belt nor a lace, not a
buckle nor a strap, but he can trace the exact form and

assign the particular purpose of it. Whether the effigy

"
be a statue or a brass," he finds in it abundant material
for furthering his inquiry ;
and while from the illumina-
tions of cotemporary manuscripts he obtains precise in-
formation on the point of colour, in the effigy he sees
the exact moulding of each knightly adjunct, and the
smallest pattern that adorns the smallest ornament of the

knightly equipment. The military brasses of this cen-

tury are but few but the statues, in stone, in wood, or
;

in Purbeck marble, are scattered through our English

counties in surprising numbers. The value of these
194 ANCIENT ARMOUR

national memorials is
beginning to be understood: the
crumbling figure is no longer permitted to perish, in the
open churchyard, to lie in fragments among the rubbish
of the belfry corner, to form the ridiculous ornament of
the churchwarden's grotto or the squire's glyptotheck.
With pious care it is restored to the sacred fane from
which it had been abstracted ;
again becomes part of it

the chancel or chantry beneath whose pavement lie the

bones of him of whom church, chantry, and statue are
alike the monuments. But from the very consideration
which has been newly accorded to these memorials, has
arisen a fresh danger it has, in some cases, been thought
:

expedient to submit them to a so-called restoration. They

have been patched up with Eoman cement, eked out
with supplementary limbs, plastered over with mock
Purbeck marble. The mistakes that have been committed
in costume, equipment, and art- treatment, are more fit

for the pages of a jest-book than those of a sober treatise;

and it is
scarcely necessary to say that, for any purpose
of the historian, the archaeologist, or even in the more
narrow view of ancestral portraiture, the statue has be-
come, under such a treatment, utterly valueless. Yet
our task is so simple. We have
only to preserve. In-
heritors of the finest series of national ancestral memorials
that Europe can boast, let us at least transmit to after-

days, in all their integrity, the admirable works that

have come down to us through the troubles and tur-
a
moils of seven centuries .

8
An series of English
instructive tinental examples, especially those of Ger-

sculptured figures has been finely en- many, are ably figured in Hefner's Cos-
graved in Stothard's Monumental Ef- tvmes du Hoyen- Age. The sculptured
and in the continuation of this effigies preserved in the Church of St.
figies,
work by the brothers Hollis. The con- Denis are well described in the Mono-
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 195

Throughout the thirteenth century the feudal and mer-

cenary TROOPS continued to be employed together. But
towards the middle of this period, the Italian cities, com-

bating for their liberties, began to levy their men-at-arms

from the non-noble class as well as from the knightly ;

a force which, under the name of Conduttitij Soldati, ob-

tained in the next age a very wide celebrity.
Besides the mounted men-at-arms or heavy cavalry,
there were light-horse troops formed by the mounted
archers and cross-bowmen, and the esquires attending

No. 47.

graphic de I'Eglise de St. Denis of the
Baron De Guflhermy. The monumental
brasses of England have been engraved
excellently and in large numbers by
Messrs. Waller, and in the subsequent
works of the Rev. Mr. Boutell. The
knightly statues given in Blore's Monu-
ments, though not numerous, are of the
highest order of art, and perfect in their
truthfulness.

o 2
196 ANCIENT ARMOUR

upon the knights. The example here given is from Boy.

MS. 20, D. 1, fol. 127, a work of the close of the thir-
b
teenth century .

The foot-troops or Sergents de pied consisted principally

of archers, cross-bowmen and spearmen. There were also
the Sergens d' armes or heavy-armed body-guard, Cous-

tillers, Slingers, Bidaux, and Brigands or Eibauds; to

which may be added the varlets or pages, who followed

their knightly masters into the field, now fighting lustily
in the melee, now bearing off the wounded body of their

lord to some place of solace and safety. Clientes and

Satellites were general names given to the inferior troops

of the feudal and communal levy, including both horse

and foot. There was nothing approaching to a uniform
costume for the soldiery, though occasionally we find a
leader seeking to identify his men by some addition to
their dress, as a cross, a scarf, or other similar token. In

1264, Simon de Montford "ordered his troops to fasten

white crosses on their breasts and backs, above their ar-

mour, in order that they might be known by their ene-

6
mies, and to shew that they were fighting for justice ."

In this however, the motive seems to have been,

case,
less the desire of a mark of recognition among friends,
than the assumption, so common in warlike undertakings,
of a holy motive for manslaughter. In the following

passage from Guiart relating to the battle of Mons-en-

Puelle, the object is more distinctly that of friendly re-
cognition :

" Pour estre an ferrir

recommz,
Yilains, courtois, larges et chiches,

b This manuscript is perhaps a little the thirteenth century,

c
later than the year 1300, but the armour Matthew Paris, p. 853. ed. Wats,
represented in it is essentially that of
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 197

Sont de laz blans et de ceintures

Escharpes sur leurs armures.
Neis li ribaut les ont mises,
Faites de leurs propres chemises." Vers 11,059.

Of the Man-at-arms and his barded charger we obtain

an admirable definition from the Chronicon Colmariense
" Armati
under the year 1298 :
reputabantur qui galeas
ferreas in capitibus habebant, et qui wambasia, id est ;

tunicam spissam ex lino et stuppa, yel veteribus pannis

consutam, et desuper camisiam ferream, id est, vestem ex
circulis ferreis contextam, per quae nulla sagitta poterat
hominem vulnerare. Ex his Armatis centum inermes
mille Isedi potuerunt : habebant et multos qui habebant

dextrarios, id est, equos magnos, qui inter equos com-

munes quasi Bucephalus Alexandri, inter alios eminebat.
Hi equi cooperti fuerunt coopertoriis ferreis, id est, veste
ex circulis ferreis, contexta. Assessores dextrariorum
habebant loricas ferreas : habebant et caligas, manipulos
ferreos, et in capitibus galeas ferreas splendidas et or-
natas, et alia multa quse me tseduit enarrare." The
armour of these sturdy warriors we shall presently ex-

amine piece by piece.

The Sergens a pied (Servientes] included the mass of
the beneath the knightly dignity.
troops Gruillaume
Guiart arms them with the lance and crossbow :

" bon serjanz i a

A arbaletes et a lances."
e
CJironique Metrique, 2 partie, vers 8567.
.

And the same weapons are assigned to those levied by

.

the ordonnance of Philip of France in 130 3 "Et seront :

armes les sergens de pie de pourpoint et de hauberjons,

198 ANCIENT ARMOUR

gamboison, de bacinez et de lances : Et des six, il y en

aura deux arbalestriers d ."
The Sergens Armorum^) whose es-
d? armes, (Serviettes

tablishment in the twelfth century we have already ob-

served, (page 100,) continued to form the royal body-

guard throughout the present age. In 1214 they espe-
cially distinguished themselves at the battle of Bovines,
as we find recorded by the monument (before noticed) in
the church of St. Catherine. The inscription of the monu-
ment, though not earlier than the beginning of the
itself

fifteenth century, probably relates very exactly the cir-

cumstances of their victory, and of the foundation of the

church. It is as follows: des Sergens "A la priere
r
darmes Mons Saint Loys fonda ceste Eglise et y mist la
.

premiere pierre Et fu pour la joie de la vittoire qui fa

:

au Pont de Bouines Ian Mil. cc et xun. Les Sergens

darmes pour le temps gardoient ledit pont et vouerent
que se Dieu leur donnoit vittoire ils fonderoient une
eglise en lonneur de Madame Sainte Katherine. Et
ainsi fu il." A statute of Philippe le Bel in 1285
limits the number of these guards attending the court to
"
thirty :
Item, Sergens d' armes, trente, lesquels seront
a Cour sans plus." From the same statute we learn that
one of their weapons at this time was the crossbow "Us :

porteront toujours leurs carquois pleins de carreaux."

The Archer was becoming every day of more import-
ance in the field and if the bow was an efficient arm in
;

battle, it was still more so in sieges, and the defence

of

strongholds and mountain-passes. Erom various Statutes

of Arms we find that a portion of the military tenants are

d
Collection des Ordonnances, i. 383.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 199

ordered to be provided with the longbow and arrows.

The Statute of Winchester, in 1285, directs that each
man " a quaraunte soudeesz de terre e de plus jeqs a cent
souz, eit en sa mesun espe, ark,
setes e cutel. E tuz . . .

lez autres qui aver pount, eient arcs e setes hors de fo-

restes, e dedenz
forestes arcs e piles."Compare the sta-
tute of the 36th year of Henry III., printed in the Addi-
6
tamenta of the History of Matthew Paris The costume .

of the ordinary archer, defended only by his chapel de

in our woodcut, No. 50, from
fer, appears to be depicted
Harleian MS. 4751, fol. 8, written at the commencement
of this century. That the English occasionally mixed
their bowmen with the cavalry, we have the express tes-
" Viri autem
timony of Matthew Paris :
sagittarii 'gentis

Anglorum equitibus per-

mixti." In many illu-

minations of this time

they appear fully armed

in hauberk and helm,
as in the miniature here

given from Eoyal MS.

20, D. 1, fol. 307. See
also our woodcut, No.
82, a group from the
Painted Chamber of the

palace at "Westminster,
where the archer wears
a hauberk and coif of
chain-mail. These ex-

amples of heavy-armed bowmen are fully borne out by

Abstracts of both are given at a later page of this division.

200 ANCIENT ARMOUR

written testimony. We
have already observed Eichard
Coeur- de-Lion plying his arrows under the walls of Lin-

157); and Otto Morena has, "Ipse Imperator

coln, (p.

optime sciens sagittare, multos de Cremensibus inter-

fecit." (p. 58.) For further pictorial examples of archers
of this century, see Eoyal MS. 2, B. vi. fol. 10 and 20,
;

D. i. ff.
60, 87, 150 and 285.

By a curious volume of " Proverbs" of the thirteenth

century, printed from a manuscript of that date in the

Vie prime des Francois*, we learn that "the best archers
are in Anjou." Other proverbial celebrities of this

manuscript are Chevaliers de Champagne, Ecuyers

:

de Bourgogne, Sergens de Hainaut, Champions d' Eu,

Eibauds de Troyes.
The provision of an equipped archer to attend the

king in his wars, is the frequent sergeantry for lands at

this time; and the particulars attached to the service
occasionally partake of that whimsicality found in other
tenures of the period. It is curious also to trace the

changes which these charters undergo in a small lapse of

years, as they come under the inspection of the jurors
appointed to enforce their engagements. Thus, the ser-
vice for the manor of Eaintree, in Shropshire, in 1211, is
"a foot-soldier, with a bow and arrows, for the king's
army in Wales." In 1274 the soldier is bound to stay

with the host only "till he has shot away his arrows."
In 1284 the archer has " to attend the king in his Welsh
g " This
wars, with a bow, three arrows, and a terpolus .'
*

terpolus, or tribulus, was probably an "archer's stake,"

not the mere small iron caltrop, of which the provision of

f
Vol. iii.
p. 403. Ey ton's Antiq. of Shropshire, i. 160, sq.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 201

one only by each archer would be of little use in im-

peding a charge of cavalry. The duty of the bowman who

had only to stay in the field till he had shot away three
arrows was sufficiently easy but on other occasions the
;

archer did not escape so lightly. The manor of Chetton,

co. Salop, supplies in 1283 an archer for the king's host
in Wales, who is to take with him a flitch of bacon, and
h
to remain with the army till he has eaten it all
up .

The Cross-bowman was an es-

sential component of the host

during all this period. He was

in the van of battle.
" Balistarii

semper prseibant," says Matthew

Paris and there is scarcely a
1

conflict mentioned by this chroni-

cler in which the arbalester does
not play a conspicuous part. In
the battle near Damietta, in 1237,
No. 49.
"more than a hundred knights of
the Temple fell, and three hundred cross-bowmen (ar-

cubalistarii), not including some other seculars, and a

k
large number of foot- soldiers ." The Emperor Frederic
in 1239, giving an account of his Italian campaign to
" After
the king of England, writes : we had by our
knights and cross- bowmen reduced all the province of
Liguria ," &c.
1
In 1242 the Count de la Marche, re-

fusing to do homage to Amphulse, the brother of the

French king, " swelling with anger and with loud threats,
accompanied by his wife Isabella and surrounded by a
body of soldiers, broke through the midst of the Poic-

h
Blount's Anc. Tenures, and Eyton's Antiq. of Shropshire, i. 180.
k
Page 248.
l
Paris, p. 374. Ibid., p. 467.
202 ANCIENT ARMOUR

tevin cross-bowmen, and having set fire to the house

in which he had dwelt, suddenly mounted a horse and
1
took to flight "." marching to meet the English
St. Louis,

in Poitou, had an army in which there were " about four

thousand knights splendidly armed to the teeth, besides

numbers of others, who came from all directions, flocking
to the army, like rivers flowing into the sea; and the
number of retainers and cross-bowmen was said to be
about twenty thousand"." The opposing forces of the
" sixteen hundred knights,
English king consisted of
twenty thousand foot- soldiers, and seven hundred arba-
lesters."

The Cross-bowmen were of several kinds, some mounted,

some on foot. The mounted balistarii in King John's
time were those possessing one horse, those having two
horses (ad duos equos\ and others having three horses.
In 1205 the king sends to the sheriff of Salop, " Peter, a
balister of three horses, and nine two-horse balisters,"
who are to be paid 10s. 4^. per day (the whole ten).
The usual pay at this time was : to the cross-bowman
with two horses, 15<#. per diem ;
with one horse, 7 \d. per ,

day and to the

; foot-balister, 3d. per day.
The quarrels for the crossbows were carried after the
army in carts. Thus Guillaume Guiart :

" Arbaletriers
vont quarriaux prendre,
A pointes agues et netes,
Qui la furent en trois cliarrettes
Yenues par mesire Oudart." Annee 1303, p. 291.

The bows themselves, with other weapons and defences,

Paris, p. 514. Rot. Claus. 6 John, m. 66.

Paris, p. 518, ad an. 1242. P Rot, Claus. 7 John, m. 18.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 203

were also carted after the host, and termed the " artillery"
of the expedition :

" Artillerie est le charroi

Qui par due, par comte ou par roi

Ou par aucun seigneur de terre
Est charchie (charge) de quarriaux en guerre,
D' arbaletes, de dars, de lances,
Et de targes d'une semblance." Guiart, an. 1304.

Notwithstanding the services rendered in the front of

by the cross-bowmen, and the other foot-troops
the battle ;

whose post was the more perilous from their being but
slightly provided with defensive
equipment the knightly ;

body of their own party made no scruple to ride them

down whenever they stood in the way of the glory or
ambition of the equestrian order. At Courtray in 1302,
the French foot having gallantly repulsed the Flemings,
Messire de Valepayelle cried to the Count of Artois,
"
Sire, cil vilain tant feront

Que 1'onneur en emporteront." Guiart, pt. ii. v. 6132.

And forthwith the men-at-arms

" Parmi les pietons se flatissent,

Qu' a force de destriers entr' ouvrent :

Des leurs meismes le champ queuvrent,

Et merveilleux nombre en estraignent."

This confirmed by the Grandes Chroniques : "Nos gens

is

de pie savancent, si auront la victoire et nous ny aurons

point d'onneurV All our readers will remember the

" Or
similar fate of the Genoese cross-bowmen at Cressy :

tot, tuez toute cette ribaudaille, qui nous empeche la voie

sans raisonV

r
i Vol. v. c. 42. Froissart, bk. i. c. 287.
204 ANCIENT ARMOUR

The arbalester sometimes appears in heavy armour,

as in our woodcuts, Nos. 49 and 50. And Matthew Paris
has :
a Arcubalistarii circiter sexaginta loricati ."
8
The
provision of quarrels for each cross-bowman of the com-
munal force was fifty, as we learn from the charter of
" Chascuns de
Theobald, count of Champagne in 1220 :

la Commune de Yitre qui aura vaillant xx. livres, aura

aubeleste en son ostel et quarriaux L." The office of

" Master of the Arbalesters" became one of the chief

dignities of theFrench army, and was conferred only on

persons of the highest rank. Thibaut de Monleart held
this charge under Saint Louis, and in the Milice Fran-

Pere Daniel will be found a complete list of the

qoise of
"Maitres des Arbaletriers de France" till the days of
1
Francis L, when the office ceased . The little window
in city or castle wall, through which the bolts of the

crossbow were discharged, was called arbalestena. For

other pictures of the cross-bowman of the thirteenth cen-

tury than those given in our woodcuts, Nos. 49 and 50,

see Add. MS. 15,268, fol. 122, and Koy. MS. 20, D. 1,
fol. 36P.
The Coustiller, employed, as we have seen, at Bovines
in 1214, continues in request throughout this century;
and will be found again in the pages of Froissart, taking
part in the battles of the succeeding age.
The Slinger is still of occasional occurrence. In this
very curious group from Harl. MS. 4751, fol. 8, a work
of the early part of the thirteenth century, the
slinger
appears without any defensive armour, and his weapon
differs in no particular from the sling of Anglo-Saxon

*
Hist., p. 591.
'
Vol. i.
p. 198.
PLATE L.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 205
206 ANCIENT ARMOUR

times, as shewn in our woodcut, No. 12. Besides the

ancient Cord Sling, there appears in the manuscripts of
this century a variety of the arm, the Staff Sling. It

seems to have been in vogue for naval warfare, or in

the conflicts of siege operations. The example here

No. 51.

engraved is from Strutt's Horda, vol. i.

plate 31 ;
the

authority being a MS. of Matthew Paris of this century,

preserved in the library of Benet College, Cambridge.
Other examples of the Staff Sling are given in Strutt's
Sports, bk. i.
chap. 2.
The Bideaux were foot-troops fighting with-
(libaldi)
out defensive armour, whose usual weapons were a spear,

javelins and a coutel. Guiart exactly describes them :

" De Navarre et devers Espaingne

Heviennent Bidaux a granz routes.
En guerre par accoustumance
Portent deux darz et une lance,
Et un coutel a la ceinture :

D'autres armures n'ont cure." Pt. ii. verse 10,518.

The Eibaux or Brigans were the humblest of the

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 207

troops,and by their extreme poverty were driven to acts

of depredation which eventually made their very name

synonymous with marauder. They carried such weapons

as they could obtain :

" Li uns une x

pilete porte,
L'autre croc ou macue torte.
_,#_......*
L' un une epee sans feurre,
tieut
L'autre un maillet, 1' autre une haclie." Guiart, v. 6635.

They are not only without armour, but their equipment

altogether is in a very tattered condition :

" Et Eibaldorum nihilominus agmen inerme,

Qui nunquam dubitant in qusevis ire pericla."
lib. iii.
Philippidos,

" Leurs robes ne sont mie

neuves,
Ainz semble tant sont empirees
Que chiens les aient deciriees. Guiart, v. 6640.

Matthew Paris names them with but little honour:

y ."
"Eibaldi et viles personse They were, however, by
no means useless members of the host. Thus, when
1189 " Bum
Auguste appeared before Tours in
:

Philippe
Eex circumquaque immunita civitatis consideraret, Ei-

baldi ipsius, qui primes impetus in expugnandis munitioni-

bus facere consueverunt, eo vidente, in ipsam civitatem
z
impetum fecerunt," &c.
the baggage of
They were made to assist in carrying
the army " Inermes Eibaldos et alios, qui solent sequi
:

exercitum propter onera deportandaV And, being un-

obtained
provided with defensive armour, whenever they

y Ann. 1214.
pike.
a ad ann. 1202.
Rigord. Brito,
208 ANCIENT ARMOUR

any booty, the "soudoyers," who were better equip-

ped than they, attacked them and appropriated their
prizes :

" Mais li Soudoiers de Biaugiers,

Qui d'armes ne sont mie nuz,
De ce qu'ils portent les desrobent." Guiart, v. 10,826.

The Eoi des Ribands was an officer appointed to restrain

the excesses of the Eibaldi, and is mentioned in many
documents of France from the time of Philip Augustus
to that of Charles YI. At the battle of Bovines in 1214,
Eoger de "Wafalia is named in the list of prisoners as
" Eo-
falling to the share of the King of the Eibauds :

gerus de Wafalia. Hunc habuit Eex Eibaldorum, quia

dicebat se esse servientem."
The names Clientes and Satellites were employed, as
we have before mentioned, to indicate generally the in-
ferior troops, whether horse or foot. At the battle of
Bovines, the Clientes are a mounted corps, armed with
sword and spear :

"
Et quos Medardicus abbas b
Miserat immensa claros probitate Clientes
Terdenos decies quorum exultabat in armis
Quilibet altus equo gladioque horrebat et liasta."
Ouil. le Breton.

In the following passage, the Clientes seem to be foot-

troops. It is from the History of Dauphiny, where, in

1283, Humbert promises to assist the Archbishop and

" contra omnes
Chapter of Yienne :
homines, suis pro-
priis sumptibus et expensis, cum centum hominibus ar-

matis in equis, et cum tercentis balistariis, et septingentis

clientibus cum lanceis."

b The abbot of St. Medard.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 209

Satellites appear at Bovines, both mounted and on

foot. The horse seem to have formed a light corps, and
were employed They are looked
to begin the combat.

upon, however, with much contempt by the opponent

knights ; who, disdaining to advance against an ignoble
foe, receivethe charge without quitting their post. "Prse-
" idem Electus de consilio Comitis
misit," says Eigord, ,

S. Pauli, CL. Satellites in equis ad inchoandum bellum,

ea intentione ut praedicti milites egregii invenerint hostes

aliquantulum motos et turbatos. Indignati sunt Elan-

drenses quod non a Militibus sed a Satellibus primo
. . .

invadebantur nee se moverent de loco quo stabant, sed

:

eos ibidem expectantes acriter receperunt," &c. These

troops, we
are told, were from the valley of Soissons, and
combated both on foot and on horseback. " Erant Sa-
tellites illi probissimi, de valle Suessionensi, nee minus
pugnabant sine equis quam in equis."
Not only were Spies in use, but, what somewhat dis-

turbs one's confidence in the exalted simplicity of these

times, it had already been discovered that the fair sex

might be employed with advantage in this office. The
heroic Edward I.,
in his campaign against the Welsh in
" certain female
1281, gives a shilling to a spy" for her
services
":Cuidam spiatrici, de dono, xij. denariid ." And
a to another of these useful
" to
again, pound ladies, buy
her a house :"
" Cuidam ad unam domum sibi
spiatrici,
e "
emendam, de dono, xx. s.
From the various Statutes of Arms of this century we
learn very exactly the equipment of the military tenants.
Three of these statutes for England have been preserved :

c The Bishop Elect of Beauvais. at Rhuddlan Castle : Archajol. xvi., 47.

* Roll of Expenses of K. Edward e
I. Ibid.
210 ANCIENT ARMOUR

that of 1252, in the Additamenta of the Historia Major

of Matthew and printed in Bymer's Foedera that
Paris, ;

forming part of the Statute of Winchester in 1285,

" Sta-
printed by the Eecord Commission in vol. i. of the
tutes of the Eealm ;" and that of 1298, printed in the
new edition of the Foedera, vol. i.
p. 901. The Scottish
enactments will be found in Skene's Eegiam Majestatem,
and the French in the Collection des Ordonnances.

The Assize of 1252, 36 of Hen. III., closely resembles

that of 1285 ;
but in the
the equipment is of six
first

varieties, while in the second there are seven classes of

armed men. To avoid repetition, we shall give the
earliest of these statutes in the text, and add the read-
ings relating to the armour from the Statute of Win-
chester in a note.
The Sheriffs, with two knights elected for that pur-
pose, are to go round the hundreds, cities, &c., and call
before them the " cives, burgenses, libere tenentes, vil-
lanos et alios, setatis quindecim annorum usque ad setatem

sexaginta annorum; et eosdem faciant omnes jurare ad

arma, secundum quantitatem terrarum et catallorum suo-
f

rum ;
scilicet : Ad quindecim libratas terree, unam lori-
g
cam, capellum ferreum, gladium, cultellum et equum :

Ad decem libratas teme, unum habergetum h

, capellum
ferreum, gladium et cultellum: Ad centum solidatas

terra3, unum purpunctum, capellum ferreum, gladium,

lanceam et cultellum
1
: Ad quadraginta solidatas terrae
et eo amplius usque ad centum solidatas terrse, gladium,

f
chattels. h
Haubergeon." Ibid.
* " "
Hauber, chapel de feer, espe, cutel
s

Parpoint, chapel de feer, espe e

echeval." Stat. of Winchester. cutel." Ib.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 211

arcum, sagittas et cultellum

j
. Qui minus habent quam
XL. solidatas terrae, jurati sint ad falces, gisarmas, cultel-
los et alia arma minuta k .

"Ad catalla sexaginta marcarum, unam loricam, ca-

pellum ferreum, gladium, cultellum et equum

1
: Ad ca-

talla XL. marcarum, unum haubercum, capellum ferreum,

gladium et cultellum: Ad catalla xx. marcarum, unum
et cultellum
purpunctum, capellum ferreum, gladium :

Ad catalla novem marcarum, gladium, cultellum, arcum

et sagittas : Ad catalla XL. solidarum et eo amplius usque
ad decem marcas, falces, gisarmas, et alia arma minuta m .

"
Omnes enim alii qui possunt habere arcus et sagittas
extra forestam, habeant qui vero in foresta, habeant
:

arcus et pilatosV
View of arms is to be taken by the mayors, bailiffs

and provosts of the cities and towns . Constables to be

appointed to command the force. Tournaments and be-

hourds forbidden " Clamare faciant
:
Yicecomites, &c.
quod nulli conveniant ad turniandum vel burdandum,
nee ad alias quascunque aventuras." And none to ap-
pear armed except those specially appointed.
The distinction between the kinds of arrow to be used
within and without the forest bounds, is curious, and not

altogether clear at this distance from the days of archery.

The fatal power of the barbed shaft upon the king's deer

" m Here the an

J
Espe, ark, setes e cutel." Ib. Stat. of Winchester has
k " "
Faus, gisarmes, e cotaus, e autres additional class :
Qui meins ad de cha-
memies armes." Ib. teux de vynt marcs, espees, cuteus e
1
These are the same equipments as autres menues armes."
n " Arcs et setes hors de forestes, e de-
before, only calculated by a money
qualification instead of a landed pro- denz forestes arcs et piles (oar. pilets)."

perty. The Winchester Statute has a Stat. Win.

" Deus foiz Stat. Win.
similar provision. par an."

P 2
212 ANCIENT AKMOUR

isindeed evident enough, but the comparatively innocu-

ous character of the piled arrow is not so plain. The

usage, however, is well attested by numerous instances.

In the Statute of arms of William the Lion, king of Scot-
land, we have: "Et omnes alii, qui habere poterunt, ha-
beant arcum et sagittas extra forestam : infra forestam,

arcum et pyle ." p

And by an agreement made in 1246
between Eoger de Quinci, earl of Winchester, and Eoger
de Somery, touching certain rights of chace in Bradgate
"
Park, co. Leicester, it is stipulated quod Forestarii sui
non portabunt in bosco prsedicti Eogeri de Somery et
hseredum suorum sagittas barbatas sed pilettasV
Shakespere, who has a passage
illustrates everything,

bearing on this subject among the rest. Under the

"
greenwood tree of the forest of Arden, the Duke, in As
you like it," addresses his companions :

"
Come, shall we go and kill us venison ?

And yet it irks me, the poor dappled fools

(Being native burghers of this desert city)

Should, in their own confines, with forked heads

Have their round haunches gored." Act ii. Sc. 1.

And the fatal effects of the forked head are familiar to us

all in the case of the
"
poor sequester' d stag,-
That from the hunter's aim had ta'en a hurt,"

coming to languish away its life

"
On the extremest verge of the swift brook."

The feudal levy of the Ban and Arriere-ban was of

course much by the pressure of the occasion
influenced

requiring their armament. In 1205 King John, in a

Council held at Winchester, called upon every tenth

P H Blount's Ancient Tenures.

Cap. 23.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 213

knight in the realm to accompany him into Poitou, at

the expense of the other nine; and if, during his ab-

sence, the country should be invaded, every man capable

of bearing arms was to join in its defence, under pain of

forfeiting any lands he might hold; or, if not a land-

owner, of becoming, with all his posterity, a slave for

ever, and paying a yearly poll-tax of four-pence. Each
1
knight was to receive two shillings per day . This expe-
dition did not, however, leave our shores.

When Philip of France was preparing to attack King

John in 1213, the English monarch summoned all his
"liberos homines et servientes, vel quicunque sint," to
aid him under pain of culvertage
8
.

In 1264, when the Earl of Leicester mustered his

forces on Barham Downs to resist the threatened invasion

of Queen Eleanor, the military tenants were ordered,

under pain of felony, to bring into the field not only the
force specified in their tenures, but all the horsemen and

infantry in their power every township was compelled

:

to send eight, six, or four footmen well armed with

lances, bows, swords, cross-bows, and axes, who should

serve forty days at the expense of the township and the ;

citiesand burghs received orders to furnish as many

horsemen and footmen as the Sheriff should appoint*.
The Pay assigned to troops who, having contributed
the stipulated service for their holdings or assessments,
were required to render further assistance to the king in
his wars, we discover in the Eoll of Expenses of King
r
Rot. Pat. 55. Lingard, Hist, of Eng. See also Du-
"8
Culvertage means in plain English cange, v. Culvertagium.
the penalty of being a turn-tail. The l
New Rymer, 444. See also Hallam's
culprit was liable by law to the forfeiture Middle Ages, vol. i.
p. 170. ed. 1855.
of all property, and perpetual servitude."
214 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Edward I. Euddlan Castle in Wales, in 1281-2. From

at

this curious document, which is printed in full in the

sixteenth volume of the Archseologia, we find :

The Pay of Per Diem. In modern

A. knight ..................

An esquire
An archer
A cross-bowman
A captain-of-twenty -^

(bowmen) ......... )

A constable (of 100 7

bowmen) ......... J

"
Saturday the fifth day of January, paid to the Lord Engolrane,
for
serving with the Lord John de Deynile and his four Esquires,
their wages from the
for kv. days
"
.... first day of April to the fourth day of June,

To the same, for the pay of his fifth Esquire, for xxiv. days xxiv.s.
. xix. li. x. s.

.....
:

" To the said five

Esquires, for their pay, for fifteen days following
the fourth of June Ixxv. s."
# * * x # #
"
Paid to Geoffry le Chamberlin, for the wages of twelve cross-
bowmen (balistariorum) and thirteen archers (sagitiariorum) for xxiv.
days, each Cross- bowman receiving by the day iv. d., and each Archer
. .
ij.d.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 215
" To Master E. Griffard, for the wages of one Constable of foot,

of Twenties, for three days

"
* *
....
receiving vi. d. per day, and of fifty-three Archers, with two Captains

*
xxix. s.
# *
To Robert Giffard, for the wages of forty-three Captains
of Twenties, each receiving iv. d.
per day," &c.

There were also Constables of Cavalry, perhaps com-

manding mounted archers, and their pay is set down at
twelve pence per day. Occasionally the constables have
a command of two hundred men, and sometimes it sinks

as low as fifty.
The ordinary number, however, is a
hundred.
Of the Armed Town- Watch in England we obtain
some particulars from the " Breve Begis" of the 36th
Hen. III. " Henry, king, &c. to such or such a sheriff,
greeting. Be it known to you that, for the maintenance
of our peace,it has been provided in our
Council, that
watch be kept in every city, borough and town of
shall

your county, from Ascension Day to the Feast of St.

Michael; to wit: that in every city, six armed men
(armis munitos) shall watch at every gate : in every

borough, twelve men in every : town (in singulis villis

integris) six men, or at least four, likewise furnished

with arms, according to the number of the inhabitants.

They shall watch continually throughout the night from

sunset to sunrise ;
so that all strangers seeking to pass

through, may be detained till morning. And then, if he

be a loyal man (fidelis\ he shall be set at liberty ; if a
suspected person (suspectus\ he shall be delivered over
to the Sheriff, to be by him kept in a place of safety.
But if it happen that strangers of this latter sort refuse
to allow themselves to be then the aforesaid
stopped,
Guards shall raise the hue against them on all sides,
216 ANCIENT ARMOUR

and shall follow them with all the inhabitants of the

place (cum tota villata) and places adjacent, raising the

hue and cry de villa in villam' until they be taken u ," &c.
'

The manner of thehue and cry is set down in the " Ar-
" Pursuit
ticuliV by hue and cry to be made according
to the ancient and proper form, so that those who neglect
to follow the cry may be taken as accomplices of the evil-
doers, and delivered to the Sheriff.
Moreover, in every
town, four or six men, according to the number of the
inhabitants, shall be appointed to make the hue and cry
with promptitude and perseverance, and to pursue evil-
doers, if any should appear, with bows and arrows and
other light weapons (el aliis levibus armis) ; which
weapons ought to be provided for the custody of the
whole town, and to remain for the use of the aforesaid
town. And besides the foregoing, there shall be provided
out of each hundred, two free and loyal men of most in-

fluence, to be over them, and to see that the watch be

duly made, as well as the pursuits aforesaid."

Compare the regulations for the "Watch of the city of
Paris, contained in an ordinance of Saint Louis in 1254 ;
printed in the Collection des Ordonnances.
The feudal constitution of armies was necessarily
modified in different countries by the nature of the ter-

ritory, the habits of the people, and the wealth of the

state. In Germany, where the class of nobles was more
restricted than in France and England, the foot- troops
were at an early period regarded with consideration. In
hilly countries, where the breed of horses was of a small
stature, a light-armed cavalry was the most available

8 T
M. Paris. Additamenta. Ibid., p. 1145.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 217

force. While, in the fastnesses of mountains, the pikes

and halberds of a sturdy infantry compensated for the
want of horses and the poverty of a rugged territory.
The Scottish army in 1244, Matthew Paris x tells us,
was "very numerous and powerful, consisting of a
thousand armed knights, well mounted, although not on
Spanish or Italian, or other costly horses, and well pro-
tected by armour of steel or linen and about a hundred ;

thousand foot-soldiers, who were all of one mind, and

who, having made confession, and been encouraged by

the consoling assurance of their preachers, that the cause
in which they were engaged was a just one and for their

country's good, had very little fear of death." In 1298

Wallace contending against Edward I. in person, formed
his pikemen, who were the strength of his army, into

four circular bodies 7connected together by a number

,

of archers from the Forest of Selkirk. Before them he

planted a defence of palisades : behind them, the cavalry

was stationed. In front of all was a morass, dividing
them from the English. The latter, having passed the
night on the bare heath, in the morning advanced to
the attack. Their first division, commanded by the Earl

Marshal, from its ignorance of the ground, soon became

entangled in the morass. The second, led by the Bishop
of Durham, wheeled round the swamp and came in sight
of the Scottish cavalry, when the prelate ordered his men
to await the arrival of the other bodies.
" To
thy mass,
bishop !" exclaimed one of his knights, and rushed on the

x
Page 568. fenderent, celeriter ad clamorem homi-
y This circular formation, however, num circiter millia VI. convenerunt."
was no new invention. We have it in Bell. Gall., L. 4.
"
Caesar :
Quum illi, orbe facto, sese de-
218 ANCIENT ARMOUR

enemy. They gave way at the first charge the bowmen ;

were trampled under foot, but the four bodies of pikemen

opposed on all sides an impenetrable front. The bravest
resistance, however, could not restore the fortune of the

day. Edward advanced his archers, supporting them

with his military engines, an opening was made in each
circle, the men-at-arms dashed in among the disordered
2
pikemen, and the battle was won This conflict, fought
.

near Falkirk, on the 22nd of July, 1298, affords one of

innumerable instances, shewing that little reliance can
be placed in the numbers of the slain given by even co-
temporary writers. Trivet reports the loss of the Scotch
at twenty thousand Matthew of "Westminster raises it
;

to forty thousand.

The Welsh, keeping up their hostilities to their Nor-

man invaders, reserved their aggressive operations till

the wet and stormy season of the year, when the land
was unfit for the manoeuvres of a heavy-armed cavalry,
and the gloomy days favourable for the sudden onslaught
of mountain warriors.
" Yidentes
tempus hyemale madi-
a
dum sibi competere," says Matthew Paris .

The rich cities of Italy, as we have seen, began about

the middle of this century to employ stipendiary men-

at-arms; and it seems probable that the first of these

knightly soldiers were those of the equestrian class who,
from political disgust or family feuds, had become re-

new masters. The good

fugees in the territory of their
wages and the booty obtained by these gentle mer-
cenaries induced others of a more humble class to
take up the trade, and under skilful leaders (the well-

z a
Fordun, xi. 34; Hemingford, 59165; Walsingham, 75. p. 631.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 219

known Condottieri) they obtained fame, fortune and

honours.
The Basques were at this timethe most promi-
among
nent of the mercenary troops, acting as a light corps, for
which their mountain-life rendered them very apt. They
were the Swiss of the thirteenth century.
Among our northern neighbours we obtain a glimpse of
the Frieslanders, through the means of the indefatigable
" These he "are
Matthew Paris. Frieslanders," says,
a rude and untamable people they inhabit a northern
:

country, are well skilled in naval warfare, and fight with

great vigour and courage on the ice. It is of the cold re-

gions of these people, and their neighbours the Sarmatians,

that Juvenal says, One had better fly hence, beyond the
'

Sarmatians and the icy ocean,' &c. The Frieslanders,

therefore, having laid ambuscades among the rush-beds

of Hol-
along the sea-coast, (in their war with William

land,) as well as along the country, which is marshy and

the winter season was coming on went in pursuit of the
said William, armed with javelins, which they call gave-
loches, which they are very expert, and with
in the use of
Danish axes and pikes, and clad in linen dresses covered
with light armour. On reaching a certain marsh they
met with William, helmeted, and wearing armour, and
mounted on a large war-horse covered with mail. But,
as he rode along, the ice broke, although it was more
than half a foot thick, and the horse sank up to his flank,
becoming fixed in the mud of the marsh. The tram-
melled rider dug his sharp spurs into the animal's sides
to a great depth, and the noble, fiery beast struggled to
rise and free himself, but without success. Crushed and

bruised, he only sank the deeper for his efforts,

and at
220 ANCIENT ARMOUR

length by his struggles he threw his rider among the

rough slippery fragments of ice.The Frieslanders then
rushed on William, who had no one to help him from his

position, all his companions haying fled, to avoid a simi-

lar disaster ;
and attacking him on all sides with their
javelins, despite his cries
mercy, pierced his body
for

through and through, which was already stiffened with

wet and cold. He offered his murderers an immense
sum of money for ransom of his life, but these inhuman
men, shewing no mercy, cut him to pieces. And thus,
just as he had a taste of empire, was the Flower of Chi-
valry, William, king of Germany and count of Holland,
the creature and pupil of the Pope, hurled, at the will of
his enemies, from the pinnacle of his high dignity to the
b
depths of confusion and ruin .

Clerics are still found participating the dangers and

glories of the battle-field; not alone as councillors or

leaders, but sturdily wielding the deadly mace, and clad

in hauberk and helm, like the lay vassals and men-at-
arms around them. We have already seen the Bishop
of Durham leading a division of the English at the battle
of Falkirk. At the great battle of Bovines, in 1214, the
French army was commanded by Guerin,. bishop-elect of
Senlis and there too, armed to the teeth, and plying the
;

cleric weapon, the mace, contended that bishop of Beau-

vais, whom we have, on a former occasion, seen the pri-
soner of Eichard Coeur-de-Lion. At the siege of Milan, in
" the
1238, bishop-elect of Yalentia, who knew more of
temporal than spiritual arms, hastened with the knights
whom the counts of Toulouse and Provence had sent to as-
b
Hist, sub an. 1256. See also the account of the Tartar warriors. M. Paris, ad
ann. 1238, 1241, 1243.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 221

sist the emperor . In 1239 the Emperor Frederic, writing

to the king of England, complains of the Pope becoming
a general and his monks men-at-arms, to wrest from him
"
He hath openly declared himself
his crown of empire.
the leader and chief of the war against us and the em-

pire, making the cause of the Milanese and other faith-

less traitors his own, and openly turning their business

to suit his own interests. Moreover, he appointed as

his lieutenants over the Milanese, or rather the papal,

army, the before-mentioned Gregory de Monte Longo

and brother Leo, a minister of the Minorite order, who
not only girded on the sword and clad themselves in ar-

mour, presenting the false appearance of soldiers ; but

also,continuing their office of preaching, absolved from
their sins the Milanese and others, when they insulted
our person or those of our followers'1 ." Father John of
Gatesden boldly throws aside alb and chasuble to don
the knightly hauberk and chausses in good earnest.
"Anno Domini 1245, King Henry passed Christmas at
London, and observed the solemnities of that festival in

the company of many of his nobles. At that place, on

Christmas-day, he conferred the honour of knighthood

on John de Gatesden, a clerk, who had enjoyed several
rich benefices ;
but who, as was proper, now resigned
them 6
all ." In the contest for the empire in 1248, the
army raised against Conrad by the legate, "was com-
manded by the archbishops of Mayence, Metz, Lorraine
and Strasburg, and consisted of innumerable bands from
their provinces and from Friesland, Gothland, Eussia,

Dacia, and from the provinces of Germany and those

c
M. d e
574.
Paris, sub an. 1238. p. 399. Ibid., p. 467. Ibid., p.
222 ANCIENT ARMOUR

adjoining who had received the cross*" &c. For it was

part of the papal tactics to invest the soldiers who fought
in the quarrels of the Holy See with the sacred dignity
of Crusaders. In the revolt of the Scots under Bruce in
1306, among the prisoners captured by the English were
the Abbot of Scone and the Bishops of St. Andrew's and

Glasgow, taken in complete armour g

all .

The leading principle in the TACTICS of this century

was, with the exceptions already noticed, to compose the
strength of the army of the knightly order. It was the
knight who fought in the terrible melee of the battle-
field : it was the knight who scaled the walls of the be-

sieged fortress; who directed the discharge of perrier

and mangonel ;
who filled the towers of assault by the
city walls ;
who defended those walls from outward at-
tack and who, in sea-fights, manned the ships of war,
;

and with pike and javelin contended against other men-

at-arms battling in the adverse fleet. The remainder of
the troops were looked upon as mere accessories, engines
useful to clear the for the
" " of the
achievement
way
equestrian order.
The men-at-arms marched to the field of battle in

squadrons so dense that, as acotemporary writer records,

"a of them would not have
glove thrown into the midst
reached the ground."
" Chacun conroi lente aleure
S'en va joint comme en quarreure,
Si bien que s' un gant preissiez
Et entr' eux haut le getissiez,
II paroit qu' a son asseoir
Ke duste mie tost cheoir." Guiart, 2 par., v. 11,494.

f * Lin-arcl, vol.
Paris, 651. iii.
p. 280.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 223

They charged, however, in single line en liaie the onset

of the first rank being supported by the successive charges
of those behind. The ancient formation of the wedge
(cuneus) was not, however, altogether abandoned, whether
for horse or foot. The particular manner in which the
German cavalry composed the wedge, beginning with a
front of seven men, and increasing each rank by one ad-
ditional soldier, as far as to half the depth of the forma-
h " Wie
tion, very clearly shewn by Fronsperger
is .

wohl bey den Alten gebraeuchlich gewesen das sie ihre

Schlachtordnung (fur die Eeisigen) gespitzt oder in Drey-

angel gemacht haben, also das etwan im ersten Glied
sieben Mann, im andern acht, im dritten neun, im vier-
ten zehn ; also fort an bis auf den halben Theil der Ord-

nung und Hauffen, darnach durchaus geviert

seien si

gemacht worden." In 1302, a body of Flemish infantry

adopted a similar formation in acting against the French.
" Les Francois virent une tres
grande bataille des Fla-
mands, qui contint bien huit mil hommes* et avoient
ordonne leur bataille en guise d'un escu, la pointe de-

vant, et s' estoient entrelaciez 1' un en P autre, si que on

me lespeut percier ."
1

Of the circular formation we have already seen an

example among the Scotch at the battle of Selkirk.

Guiart furnishes another :

"
Eenaut, jadis quens de Bouloingne,
Qui mort ne mebaing ne resoingne,
Tant est plain de grant hardement,
Ot fait des le commencement
De serjanz plains de grant prouece
Une closture en reondece,

h 2. fol. 66. of the French in the Etudes sur I'Artil-

Kriegsbuch, b.
1
MS. Chronicle, cited by the Emperor lerie, vol. i.
p. 39.
224 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Ou, en reposaut, s' aaisoit

Toutes les fois qu' il li plaisoit ;

Et r'issoit de leanz souvent

Quant il avoit pris air ou vent." Sub an. 1214.

The " bat-

entire army was usually formed into three
tles :" sometimes into four ;
and occasionally the whole
force was gathered into one body. In 1249 the Im-
perialists, the Bolognese, distributed
fighting against
their troops into three corps, while the latter formed
k
four And in 1266, Manfred, in a battle with Charles
.

d'Anjou, ranged his cavalry in three bodies, while his

1

adversary divided his army into four parts .

In front of all were placed the various " gyns" of the

host the mangonels, trebuchets, perdriaux, &c., serving
;

in some degree the purpose of gunnery in our own day.

"
Pres du roi devaiit la baniere
Metent Francois trois Perdriaus,
Jetans pierres aus enniaus
Entre Flamens grosses et males,
Joignant d'eus rot deux Espringoles,
Que garons au tirer avancent."

Guiart.2 e .
Par., v. 11,573.

At
the battle of Mons-en-Puelle, in 1304, three esprin-

goles were placed in battery before the French army, of

which the force was so great that the quarrels discharged
from them are said to have pierced four or five ranks of
the enemy in succession.

" Li
garrot, empene d'arain,
Quatre ou cinq en percent tout outre." G. Guiart.

The Archers and Cross-bowmen were usually placed

k
Sismondi, Repub. Ital., iii. 105. l
Giov. Villani, L. 7. c. 8.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 225

at the wings, the infantry of the communal levy in the

centre, and behind these the mounted men-at-arms.
"
Gil d'armes se rangent derrieres." Guiart, Annee 1303.

Archers were sometimes intermixed with the cavalry.

Thus, in the 23rd of Edward L, the Earl of Warwick
" men-
fighting against the Welsh, the latter placed their
at-arms fronting the earPs army: they were furnished
with very long spears, which, being set on the ground,
had their points suddenly turned towards the earl and
his company, in order to break the force of the
English
cavalry. But the earl had well provided against them ;
for between every two horsemen he had placed an archer,
so that, by their missile weapons, those who held the
lances were put to the rout m ." We have already seen
bodies of archers interspersed with other troops in the
conflict between Edward and Wallace in 1298 n .

To defend themselves from the attack of cavalry, the

army occasionally formed a barrier of carts and wagons.

" De chars et de charettes vuides,
Qu'a grant diligence ont atruites,
Ont entr' eus trois rengies faites,
En tel sens et par ordre commune
Que le derriere de chacune
Est mis, si com nous estimons,
A 1'autre entre les deus limons."
e
Guiart, 2 par tie,
. v. 11,108.

The more usual entrenchment was the ancient one of a

ditch and palissaded bank.

Stratagems were still greatly in vogue, and some of

them are of so dramatic a character that
they tell rather
of the jongleur than of the sober historian. Others, with

m 282.
Trivet, Annales, fol. Ante, page 217.
226 ANCIENT ARMOUR

enough of the marvellous, are less out of the bounds of

probability. In 1250, Matthew Paris informs us, the
Saracens gained a victory over a body of Crusaders,
whom Desiring to obtain possession of Da-
they slew.
mietta, which was in the hands of the Christians, "a
strong body of them, about equal in number to the Cru-
saders they had
treacherously putting on the ar-
slain,

mour, and carrying the shields and standards of the

Christians who had fallen, set out thus disguised towards
Damietta ;
in order that, having the appearance of French

troops, they might gain admission into the city, and, as

soon as admitted, might kill all they found therein. When

they approached the walls, the Christians on guard looked

forth from the ramparts and towers, and at first thought
they were Christians, exultingly bearing spoils and tro-
phies but the nearer they approached, the more unlike
:

Frenchmen they seemed: for they marched hurriedly

and in disordered crowds, and sloped their shields irre-
gularly, more after the manner of Saracens than of French.
And when they reached the extremities of the fortifica-

tions and approached the gates of the they were city,

clearly seen to be Saracens by their black and bearded

faces. But who can fully relate the heartfelt grief of the
Christians when they saw
the enemies of the faith giving
vent to their pride and derision, clad in the armour, and
bearing the standards and painted devices which were so
well known to them ."

The device of equipping several soldiers in similar

arms to the leader of the host, seems also to have been in
use. At the siege of Viterbo in 1243, Matthew Paris

Page 687.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 227

tells us,
" One illustrious soldier on the Emperor's side,
and adorned with his special arms, (armis ipsius speciali-
bus decor atuSj) miserably expired, to the great grief of
the Emperor, being pierced by the quarrel of a cross-
bow. His enemies raised a shout of joy, thinking they
had slain the Emperor himself; but the Emperor, pre-
ceded by his trumpeters, advanced; and, though not
without difficulty, disengaged his army from the fury of
their opponents, who had suddenly pressed forward to
crush them p
."

The influence power of lucky and

of the stars, the

unlucky days over the issue of battle, were still occa-

sionallyacknowledged; not alone by the rude leaders
of a company of men-at-arms, but by the commanders
of armies,by crowned dignitaries. The Emperor Fred-
eric II.had a firm faith in the predictions of astrolo-
gers; he never undertook a march until the fortunate
moment for departure had been fixed by those skilled
in divination; and when, in 1239, he was about to
advance against Treviso, his march was suddenly ar-
rested by an eclipse of the sun q .

The usual BODY-ARMOUR of the knightly order was, in

the early part of the thirteenth century, of interlinked
chain-mail ; but, in the second half of the century, por-
tions of plate appear, in the form of shoulder-pieces, elbow-
pieces, and knee-pieces. The chain-mail was of hammered
iron, the art of wire-drawing not being found till about the
middle of the next age. Other materials were occasion-
ally employed for defensive purposes leather, quilting, :

scale and jazerant- work, and, at the close of the century,

P
Page 537. q Rolandini : De factis in March. Tarvis., L. iv. c. 13.

Q2
22S ANCIENT ARMOUR

'
GREAT SEAL OF KING JOHN.
No. 52.

a kind of armour which has been named Banded-mail,

but of which the structure has not been exactly ascer-
tained. There can be little doubt that, among the more
humble and the Eibauds, every
troops, the Coustillers
kind of defensive material was in use which these men
could obtain a pectoral and a helmet of some sort were
:

almost indispensable, to protect them from the downward

flight of the arrows, which played so principal a part,

whether in the the siege.
field or The knights them-
selves, indeed, did not attempt a uniform costume on :

the contrary, it is often made a reproach to them, that

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE.

each endeavoured to outvie the other in the magnificence

of his apparel. On rare occasions we find a band of
cavaliers who exhibit the marvel of a similar equipment.
When Eichard, earl of Gloucester, visited the Pope, in
" he travelled
1250, through the kingdom of France
accompanied by the Countess, his wife, and his eldest
son, Henry, with a numerous suite, and attended by a

large retinue, in great pomp, consisting of forty knights

equipped in new accoutrements, all alike, and mounted
on beautiful horses, bearing new harness, glittering with
gold, and with five wagons and fifty sumpter-horses ; so
that he presented a wonderful and honourable show to
the sight of the astonished French beholders 1 ."
The usual series of knightly garments was the tunic,
the gambeson, the hauberk, the chausses, the chausson,
and the surcoat. With these are found various acces-
sories : the ailettes, coudieres, poleyns, and greaves.
The Tunic has already been seen in the first seal of
Eichard I.,
and other monuments. It again appears in
this curious group, part of a martyrdom of Thomas a
Becket, from Harl. MS. 5102, fol. 32, a work of the be-
ginning of the thirteenth century (overleaf.) It is found
also in our woodcut No. 63, from Add. MS. 17,687, an
example of the close of the century.
The Gambeson, that quilted garment which we have
seen was worn as an additional defence beneath the hau-
berk of chain-mail, is in view in the monumental effigy
from Haseley church, Oxfordshire, (woodcut 46,) a figure
seemingly of the middle of this century. It is again very
clearly shewn in our woodcut No. 59, an effigy in Ash
church, near Sandwich. In both these examples the

r
M. Paris, p. 669.
230 ANCIENT ARMOUR AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE.

No. 53.

vertical lines of quilting are plainly expressed by the

sculptor. Ducange, in his Observations on the History
of St. Louis, cites an account of the year 1268, which
includes " Expenses pro cendatis et bourra ad Gambe-
8
sones ." These might, however, have been the Gambe-
sons that formed of themselves the body-armour of the
soldier. It is very clearly distinguished as a horseman's

garment in a passage of the Statutes of Frejus, in 1235 ;

where also we see the gambeson alone accorded to the

Page 74
232 ANCIENT ARMOUR [PLATE LIV.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 233

foot-fighter: "Militem sine equo armato intelligimus

armatum auspergoto et propuncto (with hauberk and
gambeson) et scuto :
peditem armatum intelligimus ar-

matum scuto et propuncto sen aspergoto." The Chroni-

con Colmariense, under the year 1298, is still more
" Armati
explicit :
reputabantur qui galeas ferreas in
capitibus habebant, et qui wambasia, id est, tunicam
spissam ex lino et stuppa, vel veteribus pannis consutam,
et desuper camisiam ferream."

The Hauberk of chain-mail, in the beginning of the

thirteenth century, was made with continuous coif and
gloves, the coif somewhat flattened at the top of the
head, and the gloves not divided into fingers; it de-
scended nearly to the knees, and at the face-opening left
little more than the eyes and nose of the knight in view.

A striking example of the last-named arrangement is af-

forded by the figure here engraved, the sculptured effigy
of "William Longespee, at Salisbury, c. 1227. See also the
seal of King John, p. 228, and the woodcut, No. 53, from
Harl. MS. 5102. The sleeve of the hauberk is sometimes
secured at the wrist by a lace or strap as in the figure
;

of Longespee, in the brass of Sir Eoger de Trumpington,

c.1289, (woodcut 73,) and the effigy at Norton, Durham,
of the end of the century (woodcut 70). In order to
liberate the hand occasionally from its fingerless glove,
an aperture was left in the centre of the palm. This is
clearly shewn in our woodcuts, No. 80 and 62 the first
;

from the Lives of the Offas, Cotton MS., Nero, D. i.

;

and the other from Eoy. MS. 2, A. xxn. The glove

turned off and hanging from the wrist may be seen in
Plate 17 of Hefner's Trachten, and in the sculptured

effigy of a knight in Bingham church, Nottinghamshire.

234 ANCIENT ARMOUR

In the second half of the century the gloves of the

hauberk were divided for the fingers from which we ;

may suppose that the armour-smith had by this time

improved his art by making his mail- web more flexible
and more delicate. Early examples occur in the sculp-
tured effigies of knights afc Bampton, Cambridgeshire,
and Danbury, Essex; the former figured in Stothard's
Monuments, Plate 20 ; the latter in Strutt's Dress and
Habits, Plates 45 and 46. Instances both of the undi-
vided and the fingered glove will be found among our

engravings. Occasionally the sleeves of the hauberk

terminate at the wrist, as those of the archers in cuts 47
and 48; in these instances obviously for the greater
freedom in handling the bow. Where the lancer's hau-
berk is thus fashioned, the hand has the supplementary
defence of a gauntlet. Gauntlets of scalework occur in
a knightly brass, c. 1280, engraved by Waller, Part x.,
and BoutelP, p. 113. To the elbows of the hauberk
were sometimes affixed, but rarely in this century,
plates of metal called coudieres. An effigy in Salisbury

Cathedral, circa 1260, (Stothard, PI. xxx.,) offers a good

example. There another, a knight of the Clinton
is

family, in the church of Coleshill, Warwickshire. The

hauberk was subject to a further variety it was made :

with or without a Collar. Matthew Paris tells us that

in a hastilude "at the abbey of Wallenden" in 1252,
the lance of Eoger de Lemburn entered beneath the
helm and pierced his throat, for he was
of his antagonist
uncovered in that part of his body, and without a collar
(carens collario). Ducange cites an analogous passage:
"
Venitque ictus inter cassidem et collarium, dejecitque

Brasses and Slabs.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 235

caput ejus multum a corporeV The hauberk without

collar may beseen in the figures of Largesse and De-
bonnairete in the pictures of the Painted Chamber (Yet.

Mon., vol. vi.)

The Continuous Coif was in the early part of the cen-

tury nearly flat at the top ;

in the second half the round-

topped coif was more

usual. The flattened form is well
shewn in the statue of Longespee (woodcut, No. 54), and
in those of De PIsle and De Braci, (Stothard, Plates xix.
and xx.) The rounded crown occurs frequently in our
woodcuts. The coif was drawn over the head by means
of an opening in the side, and was then fastened by a

lace, a buckle, or a tie. The manner in which the lace,

passing through alternate groups of the links forming the
coif, is made to secure the loose to the
fixed part of the

cap, is excellently shewn in the figures of Longespee

and
the so-called Duke of Normandy in Gloucester Cathedral,

(Stothard, Plate xxn.) A good example of the fastening

by strap and buckle is furnished by the fragment of an

effigy found at Exeter, engraved in the Archaeological

Journal, vol. ix. p. 188. The coif adjusted by a tie is

seen in our woodcut, No. 62. The side-piece hanging
free isshewn in a knightly statue of this century in the
Abbey Church of Pershore, Worcestershire, engraved in
the Journal of the Archaeological Association, vol. iv.

p. 319. The coif is sometimes encircled by a fillet. See

our woodcuts, No. 46, 59, and 63. The circles are of

gold-colour in figures of the Painted Chamber (PI. xxx.) :

in the effigy of William de Yalence the band is richly

jewelled, (Stothard, PL XLIV.)

Many examples shew that the warrior often went to

" Collariwn.
Tho. Archid. in Hist. Salonit., c. 28. Ducange, v.
236 ANCIENT ARMOUR,

battle without any kind of helmet over the coif of chain-

mail though
; probable that some additional defence,
it is

whether of plate or of quilted-work, was in this case worn

beneath it. The regular and compact form of the crown
in many ancient examples favours this belief; and a
modern instance from the East helps to confirm it. A
suit of Birman armour in the Tower of London has a

skull-cap of plate which is quite hidden from view by

the outer armour of the head. In the effigy at Bingham,
Notts., already mentioned, the upper part of the coif is
so large that it almost gives the notion of a turban being

worn beneath. The coif used in battle without any fur-

ther defence over it, may be seen in our engravings,
Ho. '80 and 82.
On
other occasions, the mail-coif had the additional
armament of a helmet of some kind. This may be better
considered in our general notice of helmets.
The Hood of Chain-mail appears to have been designed
as an improvement on the Continuous Coif by rendering

unnecessary the side-opening and the lacing about the

face. But the hood had this great disadvantage; that,
as lay on the shoulders of the knight, it permitted the
it

lance of the adversary to pass beneath it and deal a

deadly thrust on the unguarded neck. This fact is of

constant occurrence, as well in the chronicles as in the

pictures of the times. The hood, like the coif, is both

flat-topped and round. The flattened hood is seen in the
effigy of De PIsle, (Stothard, PL xx.) The round appears
John D Aubernoun (woodcut, No. 55),
in the brasses of Sir
?

and Sir Eoger de Trumpington (Waller, Pt. iv., and our

woodcut, No. 73) in the statues of De Yere, Crouch-
:

back, and Shurland, figured by Stothard and in our

en- ;
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 237

gravings, No. 59 and 63. A simple lace, passing across

the forehead and tying

behind, bound the hood

firmly to the head. The
manner of this may be
seen on comparing the
brass of Sir John D'Au-
bemoun and the statue of
SirKobert Shurland. Both
hood and coif appear occa-

sionally yto have been slip-

ped over the head and suf-

fered to rest on the shoul-
ders. Compare the effigy
in the Temple Church

(Stothard, PI. xxxvni.),

Hefner's plate 27, and
our woodcuts No. 56 and
70. The hood is some-
times shewn as made of a
cloth-like material, (cloth,

leather, or pourpointerie?)
as in the front figure of
our engraving, No. 68,
from a MS. in the library
of Metz. Its colour is

brown, while the banded

mail in this drawing is
iron-colour. (Hefner, PI.
LXXVII.) Plain and en-
riched fillets, which we
have seen were worn over No. 55.

the mail-coif, appear also upon the hood. The plain circle
238 ANCIENT ARMOUR

occurs in the Gosberton effigy (Stothard, PL xxxvu.),

and in our woodcuts, No. 59 and 63. Enriched examples
are found in the sculptures of De Vere and Crouchback
(Stothard, PI. xxxvi.
and XLII.).
Beneath the head-defence of chain-mail was worn a
coif of softer material, to mitigate the roughness of the
iron-cloth; and perhaps also to assist in protecting the

No. 56.

head by being made of quilted- work. See our woodcut,

No. 56, from a miniature given by Willemin (Monumens
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 239

Inedits, j.
PL en.) Compare also Painted Chamber, PL
xxxv., and Willemin, j. PL CXLIII.
Besides the Hauberk already described, which how-
ever forms in a great majority of instances the body-
armour of the knights of this time, we have several
varieties of defensive equipment. The Haubergeon is

still mentioned, and seems to imply, not alone the

smaller hauberk of chain-mail, but sometimes a garment
of inferior defence and different material. There is also

a chain-mail hauberk made with sleeves which reach but

little below the elbows. A good example occurs on folio

9 of Eoy. MS. 12, F. xiii. ; a Bestiarium. See also the

figures of Virtues in Plates xxxvm. and xxxix. of the
Painted Chamber.
The Gambeson or Pourpoint, or Gambesiata Lorica, as
it is called in a will of the year 1286, frequently appears
as forming of itself the coat of fence. It is thus noticed
in the Statute of Winchester, already quoted; where,
while the first class of tenants are prescribed a "hauber,

de "
chapel feer," &c., the third class are to have parpoint,
chapel de feer, espe e cutel." Compare also the Statute
of Arms In the eighth of Edward I. we read
of 1252.
that "Kogerus de Wanstede tenet dimid. serjantiam
ibidem per servitium inveniendi unum Yalectum per

propriis, cum praepuncto, capella

octo dies, sumptibus
ferrea et lancea, custodire castrum de Portsmut
tempore
guerraeV In the " Ordonnances sur le Commerce et
les
Metiers," the duties of the pourpointers of Paris at
the close of this century are very " Se
exactly defined.
1'on fait cotes soient couchees
gamboisiees, que elles

x
Plac. Coron., 8 Ed. I., Eot. 41.
240 ANCIENT ARMOUR

deuement sur neufves estoffes, et pointees, enfermees,

faites a deux bien et nettement emplies, de bonnes

fois,

estoffes, soient de coton ou dautres estoffes y ." Again:

"Item que mil doresenavant ne puist faire cote gam-
boisiee on il n'ait trois livres de coton tont net, si elles

ne sont faites en fremes, et au dessons soient faites en-

tremains, et que il
y ait un ply de vieil linge
emprez
Pendroit de demie aulne et demy quartier devant et

autant derriere." From these enactments we see that

the connterpointers of the thirteenth century were but
too apt to construct their armours of unstable materials,
and them with a niggard hand.
to stuff

The Cuirie (Cuirena) was, as its name implies, origi-

nally a defence of leather it was also made of : cloth.

It covered the body alone, requiring the addition of

Brachieres to complete the coat. Thus, in the Eoll of
Purchases made for the "Windsor tournament in the
" De Milori. le Cuireur
sixth year of Edward I., we have :

(Milo the Currier) xxxiij. quire t, p'c pec iij. s" Each
took two ells of the cloth called Carda in its construction :

"It pro qualibet quirett ij.

uln card." The sleeves ap-

pear to have been of pourpointerie : "It pro xxxviij. par

z
bracfi, x. bukerann ."
An account cited by Ducange, of the date 1239, has :

"Pro hernesio suo, videlicet baccis et cuireniis suis

affecturis ix. lib. v. sol. Item pro tribus baccis et tribus

cuirenis ad eosdem, iv. lib. iv. sol." See the glossarists

under Baca. Guiart also mentions the cuirie :

"
Hyaumes, haubers, tacles, cuiries,
Fondent par les grans cops et fraingnent."
Annee 1268.

y a. 1296. z
Archseologia, vol. xvii. pp. 302, 304 and 305.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 241

The Cargan seems to have been a collar or tippet of

chain -m^iL It occurs as part of a footman's armour in

the Statutes of Frejus, A.D. 1233: "Peditem armatum

intelligimus armatum scuto et propuncto, sen auspergoto,

et cofa seu capello ferreo, et cargan, vel sine cargan," &c.

The glossarists derive this and the cognate word, carcan-

numj from KapKivos, genus vinculi; and, if this deriva-
tion is the true one, a gorget of chain-mail may be
fairly
inferred.

Other materials for armour than those mentioned above

appear during the thirteenth century; but, before noticing
these, it may be well to take a glance at the remaining
parts of the knightly suit as they occur in the usual
monuments of the time then to examine the appendages
;

which are attached to the body-armour, as the ailettes

;

after which we will notice the exceptional materials em-

ployed for defensive purposes ; and lastly, those portions
of the warrior's equipment which have not been included
in the above scheme of investigation.
The Chausses, in the early part of the thirteenth cen-

tury were entirely of chain-mail, covering the whole leg ;

as shewn in our woodcuts, No.
46, 52, and 54. Some-
times they were tightened below the knee with a lace,
as in the two Salisbury effigies
(Stothard, Plates xvn.
and xxx., and our woodcut, No. 54.) A variety of this
defence was laid on the front part of the leg, and then
laced up behind.f See woodcut, No. 53, from Harl. MS.
5102, 32, a book of the early part of the century;
fol.

and our numbers 56 and 62, towards the close of this

period. Compare also Plates xxxm. of Hefner, Plate
LIV. of Strutt's Horda, and folio 10 of Eoy. MS. 12,
F. xni.
242 ANCIENT ARMOUR

To the chausses, whether of chain-mail or of banded-

mail, are sometimes added Poleyns (or knee-pieces) of
plate. It is often, however, difficult to determine whether
the poleyns are fixed to the chausses or the chausson,
from the upper edge of them being covered by the hau-
berk. A
good example of the chausses armed with the
knee-piece is offered by the knightly statue in Salisbury

Cathedral (Stothard, PL xxx.), circa 1260. See also our

woodcuts, No. 75 and 77 the first from Add. MS. 11,639,

:

fol. 520; the latter from a glass-painting in the north

transept of Oxford Cathedral. A German example given

by Heftier (Pt. i. PI. LXXVII.), from a manuscript illu-
minated at Metz c. 1280, is copied in our woodcut, JSTo.
68. Poleyns are named
in the Wardrobe Account of
28 Ed. I. (1300): "factura diversorum armorum, vexil-
lorum, et penocellorum, pro Domino Edwardo filio
Eegis,
et Johanne de Lancastria, jamberis, poleyns, platis, uno
capello ferri, una cresta cum clavis argenti pro eodem
eapello," &c.
Towards the close of the thirteenth century the Chaus-
ses are most commonly accompanied with a Chausson of
leather or quilted- work, the purpose of which was pro-

bably to obviate the inconvenience of the long chausses

of metal in riding. It is found plain, gamboised in ver-

tical lines, and sometimes richly diapered. The plain

chausson is well shewn in Stothard
7
s Plates xxii. and

xxvi., effigies at Gloucester and in the Temple Church,

London. The gamboised chausson is seen in this draw-

ing of an ivory chess-piece preserved in the Ashmolean

Museum. See also the effigy of a De Vere at Hatfield
Broadoak, (Stothard, PL xxxvi.) An excellent example
of the pourpointed chausson worked in a rich diaper is
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 243

No. 57.

offered by the brass of De

Bures, 1302 (Waller, Pt. 2,
and Boutell's "Brasses and Slabs' ). 7
A
curious variety
of the chausson and chausses is found in the figure of a
knight from Eoy. MS. 2, A. xxii. fol. 219, given in our
woodcut, No. 62 ; the chausson here being of chain-mail,
while the chausses appear to be of rivetted plates. A
chausson of chain-mail again appears in our cut, No. 86,
from the Painted Chamber. To the chausson were usually
attached knee-pieces of some rigid material metal, cuir:

louilli, or a mixture of both. See our woodcuts, Nos. 59

and 63 ; an effigy in Ash Church near Sandwich, and an
illumination from a German manuscript, Add. MS. 17,687,
both of the end of this century. Compare also the effigy
at Gosberton (Stothard, PI. xxxvu.), and those of De Vere
and De Bures cited above. Among the embellishments
of these poleyns are sometimes found little shields of
arms ;
as in our woodcut, No. 70, the effigy of an un-
244 ANCIENT ARMOUR

known knight in Norton Church, Durham, c. 1300 a and ,

in the statue of Brian Fitz Alan, in Bedale Church, York-

shire, engraved in Hollis's Effigies, Pt. 4, and in Blore's

Monuments.
At the close of this century appear the Greaves,
first

of metal or cuir louilli, covering the front of the leg from

the knee to the instep. They were probably of German
introduction, for their Latin name was Bainbergce, from
the German Beinbergen; and it seems likely that the
Germans may have copied them from the examples of
classictimes with which they had become familiar during
their wars in Italy. In the south of Europe, the greaves

No. 58.

Copied from the figure by Blore and Le Keux in Surtees' Durham, iij.
155.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 245

were already become of a highly ornamental character,

as we may see from this sculpture of Gulielmus Balnis,

1289, from a bas-relief in the Annunziata Convent at

Florence b while in England they do not once appear
*

among our monumental effigies or on our royal seals.

Nor can a single example be found among the pictures
that adorned the royal palace of "Westminster. They
are seen, however, among the illustrations of a manu-

script of Matthew Paris' Lives of the two Offas, (Cott.

MS., Nero, D. 1,) a work usually assigned to the thir-

teenth century, but perhaps not earlier than the next

age. Our woodcut, No. 80, has an example from this

manuscript, folio 7. On
comparing the two engravings
given by us, it will be seen that, while the vellum

picture shews the defence below the knee only, the

Italian figure has it both below and above. The abund-
ance of ornament in the latter specimen seems to imply
a moulded material cuir bouilli? Antique examples,
however, found at Pompeii and elsewhere, are of metal,
highly ornamented with chasing and embossed-work.
The name Bainberg occurs in several ancient docu-
ments. In the Lex Eipuaria we have: "Bainbergas
bonas pro VI. sol. tribuat." And in the will of St.
" Bruniam
Everard, duke of Erejus :
unam, helmum 1.
et manicam 1. ad ipsam opus, lemberga II." &c. And
u Bruniam unam cum
again: halsberga et manicam
unam, lemivergas duas." The word in the last passage

being probably an error for beinbergas.

In the last quarter of the thirteenth century appear
those curious appendages to the knightly suit, the

b
Add. MS. 6728. Kerrich Collections.
246 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Ailettes. But they do not occur in any frequency till

the beginning of the fourteenth century. We shall,

therefore, in noticing this novelty, refer to some ex-

amples of the later period. From their name, ailettes^
Fr. ; alette, Ital. ;
and alettce in the Latin of the period,

they appear to have been a French or Italian invention.

An early notice of them is in the Eoll of Purchases for
the Windsor Tournament in 1278, where they are made of
leather covered with the kind of cloth called Carda. " De
eodem (Milo the Currier) xxxviij. par alect cor p'c par.
viij. d." "It pro xxxviij. par alett s. pro q par di uln
card. s. xix. uln." They were fastened with silk laces,
" " D Eico pal nr viij.
supplied by Eichard Paternoster."
Duoden laqueorum c "
seric pro alett p'c duoden viij.
d.

Sir Eoger de Trumpington was one of the thirty-eigfit

knights engaged in this tournament, and it is remark-
able that his monumental brass furnishes one of the
earliest and best pictorial examples of the ailette that
has come down to us. (See our woodcut, No. 73.)
There is one instance of it, and only one, in the pictures
of the Painted Chamber, PL xxxv. It is ensigned with
a bird. In monumental statues it is very rare. The
figure here given is from a knightly tomb in the Church
of Ash-by-Sandwich, seemingly of the close of this cen-
d
tury . The
appear behind the shoulders, rising
ailettes

from the slab beneath, about the eighth of an inch.

They have been quadrangular, the outer corners having

become broken by accident: there is no trace of any
fastening, and no remain of colour. The other monu-

c
Archseologia, vol. xvii. p. 302, seq. lent by the Council of the Archaeological
d
This illustration has been kindly Institute.
PLATE LIX.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 247
* f
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 249

mental statues in England exhibiting the ailette are

those of a Pembridge in Clehongre Church, Hereford-

shire (figured, with details, in Hollis's Effigies, Pt. 5),
and the so-called Crusader at Great Tew, Oxfordshire.
The Clehongre figure is especially curious as shewing
the ailette fastened by its "laqueus," which appears on
the outside. In Switzerland there is the statue of Rudolf
von Thierstein, at Basle the ailettes here are square,
:

and fixed on the side of the figure. (Hefner, Pt. 2, PL

XLI.) Our English monumental brasses furnish several

examples. See those of Septvans and Buslingthorpe,

given by Waller, and the Gorleston brass, Plate LI. of

Stothard. The curious painted windows at Tewkesbury,
figured in full by Carter (Sculpture and Painting), and
in part by Shaw (Dress and Decorations), afford the best
illustration contributed by pictured glass. Good examples

are found in the ivory carvings and seals of the period.

The seals of Edward the Third, as duke and as king, are
well-known instances ;
and the ivory casket engraved by
Carter, Plates cxm. and cxiv., offers a singular variety of
this accessory.Illuminated manuscripts furnish abun-
dant examples. See, for instance, Eoy. MSS., 14, E. in.
and 2, B. vn., and Add. MS. 10,292. The Louterell
Psalter has a good specimen, copied in Carter's work
named above, and in the Vetusta Monumenta. French
monumental examples, we learn from M. Allou, are very
scarce : "L'accessoire qui nous occupe est fort rare dans
les monuments francais. Nous en trouvons des exemples

dans qui nous ont ete communiques par M.

les dessins

Achille Deville, des pierres sepulchrales de Eobert Du-

plessis, 1322, de Robert d' Estouteville, 1331, et de Jean

de Lorraine, Due de Brabant, 1341 e ."

e
M^inoires de la Soc. des Antiq. de France, t. xiii.
p. 339.
250 ANCIENT ARMOUR

The forms of the ailette are various : the most frequent

is the quadrangular, as in the Ash Church effigy given
above, and in this example from Add. MS. 10,293, fol.
58; a book dated in 1316. The round form occurs on

No. 60.

the ivory casket engraved in vol. 4 of the Journal of the

Archeeological Association, and in Plates CXTIT. and

cxiv.

of Carter's Sculpture and Painting. The pentagonal is

seen in an illumination of
Sloane MS. 3,983, engraved
as the frontispiece to Strutt's
Dress and Habits ;
the cru-

ciform, in the figure of a

knight from Eoy. MS., 2, A.
xxn. fol. 219 (our woodcut,
No. 62). And on folio 94 V0 .

of Eoy. MS., 14, E. iij. is an

example, the only one ever

observed by the writer, of a
It NO. 6i.
lozenge-formed ailette.
is clear, from the Cross on the shield having the same
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 251

position as the other, that the ailette is not a square one

worn awry.
The size of this appendage differs greatly in different
monuments. In the round example of the ivory casket,
cited above, scarcely larger than the palm of the
it is

hand: while, in an illumination of Eoy. MS., 20, D. 1,

VO
fol. 18 it is little less than the
, ordinary shield of the
period. Its position is generally behind the shoulder, or
at the side of it : sometimes it appears in front but too :

strictan interpretation must not be given to the rude

memorials of these times.
The use of the ailette has somewhat perplexed anti-

quarian writers. The French archaeologists of the pre-

sent day confess that itd'en expliquer
is "difficile

P usage V Some writers have considered it as a simply

defensive provision: others look upon it as an ensign,
to indicate to his followers the place of a leader in the

field. Against the supposition that it was merely ar-

morial, may be urged that in many cases it has no
heraldic bearing at all: sometimes it has a cross only,
sometimes a diaper pattern, and sometimes it is quite
blank. See examples of all these varieties in the Tewkes-

bury glass paintings, the Gorleston brass (Stothard, PI.

LI.), and the Buslingthorpe brass (Waller, Pt. 10). In
vellum pictures it is often seen worn by knights in the

tilt;where the heraldic bearings already exhibited on

the shield, crest, and surcoat of the rider, and on the

caparisons of the horse, would to no useful purpose be

repeated on the ailette. In the case of the Clehongre
example, quoted above, the outside knotting of the lace

f AnnaJes Archeol., t. iv. p. 212.

252 ANCIENT ARMOUR.

does not seem consistent with the display of armorial

distinctions on the wing beneath. In Germany they
are called Tartschen (Heftier: Trachten, Pt. 2, PL XLI.),
and their purpose of shields seems most in accordance
with the numerous ancient evidences in which they
appear. The knights, indeed, not content with their
panoply of steel, seem in the course of the middle-ages
to have fortified themselves with a complete outwork

of shields. Thus we have the ailettes, the shield proper,

the garde-bras, or elbow-shield, the shoulder-shield, the

Beinschiene, or shield for the legs, the vamplate on the

lance, and the steel front of the saddle, which was in
fact but another shield for the defence of the knight's

body. Eeferring once more to the Clehongre effigy, it

will be observed while the " defaut de la cuirasse"
that,

(where the arm joins the body) is strengthened in front

with a steel roundel, this assailable point is covered at
the lack of the arm with the ailette. See the Details on
Hollis's third plate of this monument. The analogy be-
tween these defences and those curious upright pieces of
steel on the shoulders, so frequent in the armours of the

sixteenth century, will at once be recognised.

Ailettes of a superb construction appear in the In-

ventory of the effects of Piers Gaveston in 1313 :

"Item,
autres divers garnementz des armes le dit Pieres, ovek
de perles g ." They are named
les alettes garniz et frettez

also in the Inventory of the goods of Umfrey de Bohun

in 1322: "iiij peire de alettes des armes le Counte de

Hereford*."
Besides the defences of chain-mail, which, as we have

e New Foedera, vol. ii.

pt. i.
p. 203. h
Archseol. Journ., vol. ii.
p. 349.
254 ANCIENT ARMOUR '[PLATE LXII.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 255

seen, formed the usualarmour of the knights of the thir-

teenth century, there were other materials occasionally

employed for the warrior's habit. Scale-work still ap-

pears, though in but few monuments ;
and it seems to
have been used for small portions only of the equip-

ment. See the brass figured by Waller, Part x., and

Boutell, page 113.
In this singular figure of a knight from Eoy. MS. 2, A.
xxii. fol. 219, the leg-defences are composed of a kind of

Bezanted Armour : small roundels of metal, placed con-

tiguously, appear to be rivetted to a fabric of cloth or to

to the
"
leather: forming a garment very similar penny
plate armour" of the sixteenth century. In the original

drawing, the chausses are shaded with blue but, singu-

:

larly enough, the chausson is shaded with red, though it

seems clearly to be intended for chain-mail. The date of

the figure appears to be about the close of the thirteenth

century. As a curious illustration of bezanted armour,

the late Mr. Hudson Turner told the writer of these pages
that he had seen in an ancient record an account of a hau-
berk of Edward III., studded with gold florins ; though,
with the usual caution of the antiquarian discoverer, he
withheld the name and locality of the document.
In the engraving given from Add. MS. 17,687,
overleaf,
a German illumination of the end of this century, we
have an example of Studded armour. Garments present-
ing an exterior sprinkled with studs are of frequent oc-
currence in the next age, and we shall therefore freely

use the memorials of that time in illustration of our sub-

ject and indeed we may gather some valuable evidences

;

from existing armours of Eastern manufacture. Many a

mystery of middle-age lore may be unravelled by an
256 ANCIENT ARMOUR

attentive examination of Oriental productions. As the

surface only of the military studded garments is presented
to ourview in ancient monuments, we can seldom deter-
mine with exactness their construction: but, from the
comparison of various examples, it seems probable that
there were not less than four or five varieties of this kind
of apparel. First, we have
quilted-work, in which the
studs appear to be used for holding together the com-

ponent parts of the fabric. We have already noticed an

example of the kind in our preceding division (woodcut,
No. 37). The engraving now before us seems to re-
present a similar armour: the spots are coloured of a
red-brown on a ground of light grey. In the fine manu-
script of Meliadus, Add. MS. 12,228, not only parts of
the knightly suit, but the saddles of the horses, are seeded
with studs; which seems distinctly to imply a quilted
covering. See also the effigies engraved by Stothard,
(Plates LX. and LXXIII.) And in the Tower collection

will be found Chinese armour of modern date, formed of

a quilted garment sprinkled with metal studs. The next
kind of Studded armour is that of which a real specimen
of the fourteenth century was found by Dr. Hefner in
the excavations of the old Castle of Tannenberg in Ger-

many a relic which throws the clearest light on the

:

costume of many a knightly effigy of that period. The

defence is thus contrived :
strips of metal, like hooping,
are placed horizontally across the body, the upper edge
of each splint being perforated for rivets. These strips

slightly overlap each other: a piece of velvet, or other

material of a similar kind, is then laid over the whole,
and by rows of rivets fastened to the iron splints beneath.

The velvet being of a rich hue, and the rivet-heads gilt

PLATE LXIII.j AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 257
 ANCIENT ARMOUR AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 259

or silvered, the garment presents exactly the appearance

of those knightly suits in which spots of gold or silver
are seen studding the whole superficies of a dress of
crimson or other brilliant tincture. The relic in question

is figured and minutely described in the admirable tract

on the results of the find by Doctors Hefner and Wolf:
"
Die Burg Tannenberg und ihre Ausgrabungen." The
Stapelton brass, of which there is a facsimile in the
Craven Ord Collection in the British Museum, and an
engraving in Stothard's work, and the brass at Aveley in
Essex (Waller, Pt. 1), seem to exhibit the armour in
question. Foreign examples occur in the figures of
Conrad von Saunsheim and those in Bamberg Cathedral,
given by Hefner in Part II. of the Trachten. The jazerant
coats of the fifteenth century, of which several real spe-
cimens yet remain to us, are of a very similar construc-
tion. A
third kind of Stud- work seems to differ from
the articulated sort described above, in its basis being
uniform and rigid, while the surface exhibits the same

features, of a coloured ground-work spangled with bosses

of gold or silver. See Stothard's Plates LXXVI. and xcm.
A fourth variety appears to be described in this passage
of the Inventory of the effects of Piers Gaveston " Item, :

en un autre cofire une peire de plates enclouez et garniz

d'argent, od quatre cheynes d'argent, coverz dun drap de

velvet vermail besaunte d'or
1
." Here we have a garment
of velvet spotted with gold, covering an armour nailed
with silver: clearly, therefore, differing from the pre-
ceding kinds, where the rivets unite the component ma-
terials into one vestment. A
further item of the In-

1
New Rymer, vol. ii.
pt. i. p. 203.

S 2
260 ANCIENT ARMOUR

ventory seems to shew still more clearly that the velvet

coat (whether bezanted or not) was distinct from the iron
defence "Item, deux cotes de velvet pur plates coverir."
:

Finally, another kind of studded military garment, of

which we trace the existence through the examples of
Modern Asia, consisted of several thicknesses of pliable
held together by rivets with bossed heads which
stuff,

appear on the surface. In the Museum of the United

Service Institution may be seen a Chinese armour con-
structed after this method, but having the coat lined at
the breast with a few plates of iron about the size of

playing-cards. In other examples, the studs are not

rivetted, but only sewn down upon the garment.
Towards the close of the thirteenth century we find an
armour offering a new
appearance, to which has been
given the name of Banded Mail. Notwithstanding much
careful consideration, its exact structure has not yet been
discovered, though the representations of it are very
abundant. For a whole century, manuscript illumina-
tions,monumental brasses, painted windows, royal and
baronial seals, metal chasings and sculptures of various

kinds, afford us an infinity of examples ; in none of which

has hitherto been detected the exact evidence either of
its material or its construction. Monumental sculptures,
from their large size and the careful finish of their de-
tails, might have been expected to solve a problem which
k
they only perplex. The effigy here engraved, of a knight

k
Three sculptured effigies had already fortune to find, in the little church of
been noticed in England, having defences Newton Solney in Derbyshire, the monu-
of Banded-mail, when in the course of a ment here figured. See Archaeol. Journ.,
tour in the midland counties with an vol. vii. p. 360. The other statues are
archaeological friend, the Rev. Mr. Parke, those at Tewkesbury, Bedford, Northants,
of Lichfield, the writer had the and Tollard Royal, Wilts. The engrav-
good
PLATE LXIV.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 261
 ANCIENT ARMOUR AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 263

of the De Sulney family, exhibits the warrior armed from

head to foot in a suit of banded-mail ;
and in the fol-

lowing woodcut we have given a portion of the armour

No. 65.

of this figure, of its real size. The profile view has been
copied with particular care, in the hope that it might be
of use in determining the structure of this very singular
defence. By many writers this fabric has been described
as pourpointerie ; by others it has been considered as

only a conventional mode of representing the ordinary

chain-mail. Mr. Kerrich, whose opinions will always be

ing of the Sulney effigy and the following Central Committee of the Archaeological
three woodcuts illustrative of Banded- Institute.
mail have been obligingly lent by the
264 ANCIENT ARMOUR

received with the greatest respect, speaking of the rows

of little arcs used to express the latter defence, says :

"When there are lines between the rows, whether two

or only one, I conceive it means still but the same

thing ." M. Pottier, in the text to Willemin's Monu-

1

ments Inedits, does not distinguish the so-called banded-

mail from the other, but names it simply "armure de
m
mailles ." But it seems difficult to believe that the
common chain-mail could be intended, so widely different
are the two modes of representation, whether in sculpture
or in painting. Observe, for instance, the details espe-
cially the portion in profile
from the effigy at Newton

Solney. And in the following subject from the Eomance

of Meliadus, (Add. MS. 12,228, f.
79,) there seems no

assignable reason for marking one figure so differently

from the rest, unless the armour itself were of a distinct
kind n .

No. 66.

1
Kerrich Collections in Brit. Mus., lustrations of our subject from the four-
Add. MS. 6,731, f. 4. teenth century. This manuscript ap-
pears to have been illuminated about
ta
Vol. i.
p. 77.
"
We are again obliged to borrow il- 1360.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 265

That the banded defences under consideration were of

pourpointing is still more unlikely; for a gamboised
garment, whether of velvet, silk, cloth, or whatever
material, would, in painted representations, exhibit those
various colours which are so lavishly displayed in the
other portions of the knightly attire. Yet a careful
examination of many hundred figures in illuminated

manuscripts has failed in detecting a single instance of

positive colour on banded-mail, except such as may be
referred to the metals. Green, scarlet, crimson, diaper
or ray, never appear. But gold or a golden tincture,
silver or white, and grey of various shades, occur con-
tinually. And all these seem to indicate a fabric in

which metal plays at least a conspicuous part. The ex-

amples among vellum-paintings, in which the banding is
tinted grey or left white, are so numerous that one can
scarcely open a manuscript of the period without finding
them. Instances of it in silver may be seen in Cotton

MSS., Vitellius, A. xiii., and Nero, D. vi. in Eoy. MS.

;

20, D. i., and Add. MS. 12,228. On folio 217 V0 of the .

last-named book will be found the figure of a knight

whose banded-mail is gilt. The same kind of armour,
in gold colour, appears in the windows of Beer Ferrers
Church, Devonshire, and of Fulborn Church, Cambridge-
shire. See Lysons' Devonshire, p. 326, and Kerrich

Collections,Add. MS. 6,730, fol. 61, for faithful copies

of these examples. If from the foregoing evidences we
derive the belief that the basis of this fabric was metal,
from a monument figured in the superb work of Count
Bastard, Peintures des Manuscrits, $<?., we gather that
the lines of arcs were rings; for the fillet that binds
the coif round the temples is clearly passed through
266 ANCIENT ARMOUR

alternate groups of rings, exactly as in the ordinary

mail-hood. The figure is from a French Bible of the
beginning of the fourteenth century, and oc-
curs in the seventh number of the Peintures.
In fairness we must admit that this example
is not altogether inadmissible as an evidence
in favour of the theory of common chain-
mail. And on that side may be ranged the very curious

figure of Offa the First, given in our woodcut, No. 80,

from the " Lives of the Two by Matthew Paris
Offas,"

(Cott. MS., Nero, D. i. fol.

7); where the upper part of
the warrior's coif is of " banded-mail," while the lower

portion is marked in the manner usually adopted to ex-

press the ordinary chain-mail.

Different from all these the interpretation offered
is

by M. de Vigne in his Recueil de Costumes du Moy en-

Age. On Plate LVI. of that work, the author has given
a series of sketches, shewing the supposed construction
of various ancient armours. The banded mail is repre-
sented as formed of rows of overlapping rings, sewn
down on leather or other similar material, "avec les
coutures couvertes de petites bandes de cuir." Yon

Leber, in his sketch of medieval armour, has the same

notion: " Yom 13. bis nach des 14. Jahrh. der
Anfang
lederstreifige Eingharnisch als unschone und unbequeme
Bitterhulle ." This interpretation, however, is at vari-
ance with those ancient monuments where the inside of
the defence exhibits the ring- work as well as the exterior.
See our print of the De Sulney effigy. A more impro-
bable garment, to say the least of it, than a hauberk of

Wien's kaiserliches Zeughaus.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 267

leather, faced with mail and line d with mail, can scarcely
be conceived. Other examples of the hauberk, shewing
the banding on the inside, are furnished by 'the brass of
De Creke (Waller, Pt. viii. ; Boutell, p. 39), a brass at
Minster, Isle of Sheppey (Stothard, PL LIV. ; Boutell,
p. 42), in the effigy
of Sir John D'Aubernoun (Stothard,
PL LX.), and the brass at Ghent, figured in the Archaeo-
logical Journal, vol. vii. p. 287.
Sometimes the knight's horse is barded'with banded-
mail, as in the figure from a manuscript in the Library
of Cambrai, given by De Yigne in his Eecueil de Cos-

tumes, vol.ii., plate vm. In Eoy. MS. 20, D. i. fol. 330,

a work of about the close of the thirteenth century, are

elephants with similar caparisons: on their backs are

castles, full of fighting men.
"We have already noticed that four sculptured effigies
with banded-mail have been observed in England. The
Tewkesbury figure is given by Stothard; an example
further curious from the hauberk being sculptured as

ordinary chain-mail, while the camail alone is of the

banded work. In the " Memoirs," p. 125, Stothard,
camail to Mr. Kerrich, says "
writing of this Amongst :

other curious things I have met with, is a figure which

has some remarkable points about it; but, for the dis-

covery of these, I devoted a whole day in clearing away

a thick coating of whitewash which concealed them.
The mail attached to the helmet was of that kind so

frequently represented in drawings, and which you have

had doubts whether it was not another way of repre-
senting that sort we are already acquainted with. I
am sorry that I know no more of its construction now
than before I met with it." The effigy at Dodford,
268 ANCIENT ARMOUR

near Weedon, is engraved in Baker's Northamptonshire,

vol. i. p. 360. The knight has hauberk, chausses and
coif of banded-mail, with poleyns, coutes and cervelliere
of plate. The figure at Tollard Eoyal, Wilts, has not
been engraved; but from some memorandums kindly
furnished by a appears that this knight is
friend, it

habited in hauberk, chausses and coif of banded- mail,

with a skull-cap of plate.
Compare Westmin-
also the effigy of gilded metal in

ster Abbey, of William de Valence, who died in 1296

PL XLIV.). In the following figures, from a
(Stothard,
German manuscript of about 1280, copied from Hefner's
Trachten^ it will be observed that each knight differs

from his fellow in the manner of his equipment, though

the staple defence of all is the banded-mail. Other ex-
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 269

amples of this kind of armour will be found in our wood-

cuts, No. 47, 48, 63, 72
and 77. At last, we can esta-
blish no definite conclusion. Our proofs are but of a

negative character. Yet it is always something, to have

determined what a thing is not. It seems pretty clear,

then, from the absence of varied colours which we have

remarked, that the Banded-mail is not pourpointerie of
any kind. And, from the presence of the ring- work on
the inside of the armour as well as the outside, it appears
not to be of the construction suggested by the German
and Belgian antiquaries. If meant for ordinary chain-
mail, it must be confessed that the medieval artists never
hit upon a mode of expressing this material so little

resembling the original. It is to the further examina-

tion of ancient evidences, or to the
discovery of monu-
ments hitherto unobserved, that we must look for a
satisfactory solution of this knightly mystery.
In addition to the various armours already noticed,
we find in the thirteenth
century the defence expressed
by cross-lines which we have remarked in the earlier

No. 69.
270 ANCIENT ARMOUR

periods. Good examples occur on folio 9 of Eoy. MS.

12, E. xiii.,
and in Laing's Scottish. Seals, Plate iv.

And in a chess-piece of the early part of this century,

the markings of the armour are made in a very pecu-
liar manner :
by rows of drilled holes divided by lines.

(Woodcut 69.) This seems to be the device of a rude

artist to express the ordinary chain-mail. The example
was first brought into prominent notice in the pages of
the Archaeological Journal, vol. iii. p. 241.

Occasionally, but very rarely, the chain-mail was in-

dicated in monumental statues by merely painting the

links on a flat surface. The effigy of a De Flsle in

Eampton Church, Cambridgeshire, engraved by Stothard,

Plate xxi., affords a good instance of this method.
A further singularity of the period is that the chain-
mail sometimes presents a surface of a hue which does
not appear consistent with a defence of steel. The effigy
of Longuespee at Salisbury (woodcut No. 54) has the
armour painted brown. The centre figure in our wood-
cut 'No. 53 wears a hauberk which marked with buff is

on a white ground, the other hauberks being blue. The

knight on woodcut No. 62 has a chausson shaded with
red. And in Harl. MSS. 1,526 and 1,527 are many
figures in which the chain- mail markings appear on a
bright red ground. seems probable, however, that
It

such variations may be charged on the caprice of the

artists; as in the colourings of the Bayeux tapestry,
where the near legs of the horses are made blue, while
the off legs are yellow.

Among the knightly effigies in the Temple Church,

London, is a figure which seems to require an especial
notice ;
the armour being of a fashion not elsewhere re-
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 271

marked. It consists of a back and breast-piece, each in

a single part, united at the sides by straps. The sculp-
ture being in stone, without any painting preserved, it
is of course impossible to ascertain the material which

the artist desired to represent. It may have been leather

which we have already noted the exist-
(the cuirie, of
ence); but there seems no good reason why it should
not have been iron and if so, it is perhaps the earliest
:

example of a body-armour formed of a "pair of plates

p"
large that Europe has to offer. The effigy in question
lies at the south-east corner of the group in the Bound
Church.
About the beginning of the thirteenth century arose
the use of the military SURCOAT. The first English
monarch who, on his Great Seal, appears in this gar-
ment, is King John: 1199 1216. (See our woodcut,
No. 52.) The seal of the dauphin Louis, the rival of
John, (appended to Harleian Charter, 43, B. 37, dated
1216,) has it also. The earliest Scottish king who wears
the surcoat is Alexander the Second : 1214 1249 : a
fine impression of his seal is attached to Cotton Charter,
xix. 2. Imaginative writers have affirmed that this gar-
ment was first used by the Crusaders, in order to miti-
" so
gate the discomfort of the metal hauberk, apt to get
heated under a Syrian sun." Cotemporary authority,

however, expressly tells us that its purpose was to de-

fend the armour from the wet :

"
Then sex or atte^ on assente
Hase armut horn and furthe wente
* * # * *

P Chaucer. * Six or eight.

 272 ANCIENT ARMOUR

With scharpe weppun and schene,

Gay gownus of grene,
To hold thayre armur clene
And
"

were 1
hitte fro the wete."
The Avowynge of King Arther, stanza 39.

The Surcoat was of two principal kinds the sleeveless :

and the sleeved. The latter is not found till the second
half of the century.
The Sleeveless Surcoat occurs of various lengths :

sometimes scarcely covering the hauberk, sometimes

reaching to the heels. Both the short and the long are
seen throughout the century. The long appear on the

royal seals noticed above. And on the seal of De Quinci,

circa 1250 (woodcut, No. 87); on the sculpture from
Haseley, c. 1250 (cut, No. 46); on the brass of D'Auber-
noun, 1277 (No. 55); on that of De Trumpington, 1289
(No. 73) ; on the effigies at Ash and Norton, of the close
of the century (Nos. 59 and 70); and on the statues of
De Yere and Crouchback (Stothard, Plates xxxvi. and
XLII.).
The shorter Surcoat occurs on the effigy of Longuespee,
d. 1226
(woodcut, No. 54); the knight at Whitworth, c.
1250 (Stothard, PI. xxiv.); the figures from the Painted
Chamber and the " Lives of the Two Offas" (woodcuts,
Nos. 80 and 86); the knight at Florence, 1289 (cut No.

58) ;
De Valence, in Westminster Abbey (Stothard, PL
XLIV.) ;
and our engravings, Nos. 47, 56, 63, 64 and 68 :

the last-named examples being of the close of the century.

The Surcoat is either of a uniform tint, or diapered, or
heraldically pictured. Probably, in some early sculp-
tured effigies, the surcoat, now plain, had armorial

r
protect.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 273

devices expressed by painting, which time has oblite-

rated. The armorial sureoat was a necessary result of
the visored helm; for when the visor was closed, it

was no longer possible to distinguish king from subject,

leader from stranger, comrade from foe. A similar in-
convenience had already been found in the nasal helmet.
At the field of Hastings, Duke William was obliged to re-
move the bar from his face, in order to convince his fol-
lowers that he was still alive. The figure of Longuespee
at Salisbury, c.
1226, still exhibits a portion of the
heraldic decoration of the sureoat. And it is again
found on the statue of DePIsle at Eampton, circa 1250

(Stothard, PL xx.). The pictures of the Painted Chamber

offer many (See our woodcut, No. 86.)
examples. See
also our engravings, Nos. 58 and 62. The effigy of
William de Valence in Westminster Abbey, circa 1296,
offers a curious variety of this
garment it is powdered :

with escutcheons, on each of which are the bearings of

his house. A similar arrangement is seen in one of the
figures of the Painted Chamber (Plate vi.)
The knightly sureoat of this time was slit
up in front
and behind, for convenience of riding. A singular devia-
tion from this fashion of the garment is found in a
figure
in the Cathedral of
Constance, c. 1220 ;
where from the
front part a portion passes under the
arms, overlaps the
part hanging from the shoulders behind, and then fastens
at the back. See Hefner's work, PL iv. of Pt. i.

Occasionally the sureoat has an ornamental edge of

fringe ; as in the brasses of D' Aubernoun, 1277, and De
Bures, 1302 (woodcut, ISTo. 55, and Waller, Pt. ii.). In
some cases, as in the Temple Church figure engraved by
Stothard, PL xv., the garment has a rigid appearance
274 ANCIENT ARMOUR

across the shoulders, which has been taken to indicate

a strengthening of the surcoat at that part. But the

same treatment is seen in the enamelled effigy at St.
Denis, of John, son of St. Louis where the garment ;

forms part of a civil dress ("Willemin, vol. i.,

PL xci.,
and Guilhermy's Monuments of St.
Denis, p. 164). The
Surcoat sometimes hangs loose, as in our woodcut, No.
86 ; but usually it is girt at the waist by a cord or strap.
The cord is seen in the brasses of Sir John D' Aubernoun
and Sir Koger de Trumpington ;
the strap, with its long
pendent end, in the effigies at Ash Church, Norton
Church, and St. Bride's (our woodcuts, Nos. 55, 73, 59,
70 and 74). The group from Add. MS. 17,687 furnishes
some further examples (cut, No. 63). Barely, the surcote
is made with a
" fente" at the throat, and fastened with
a fibula. An effigy in the Temple Church exhibits this

arrangement. (Hollis, Ft. ii.)

The Sleeved Surcoat, as we have already noticed, did

not come into use till the second half of the thirteenth

century. It is frequent in the pictures of the Painted

Chamber. A good example is offered by the effigy at
Norton, Durham (our woodcut, No. 70) ; and very simi-
lar are found in the statue of Lord Fitz Alan at Bedale,

Yorkshire, (engraved by Hollis, Pt. iv., and in Blore's

Monuments,) and the Temple sculpture (Stothard, PL
xxxviii.). The knightly figure on our woodcut No. 56
" slitter ed."
presents a variety, in the sleeves being
Those of the Shurland effigy (Stothard, PL XLI.) are
divided under the arm and fastened by ties.

The HELMETS of the thirteenth century, though offer-

ing many points of difference on comparing particular

examples, may yet be readily thrown into distinguish-
PLATE LXX.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 275

T 2
278 ANCIENT ARMOUR [PLATE LXXI.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 279

able classes. The first division that suggests itself is

that of the Helm
(the great, close casque of the knight)
and the Helmet, a defence, as the word indicates, of
diminished completeness. The Helm must again be
divided into two leading kinds: that in which the

plates forming it are all rivetted together, so as to make

one piece ; and that in which the front is provided with
a moveable ventail. The successive changes of fashion
supply a further division of the helms; giving us the
flat-topped, the round-topped, and the "sugar-loaf" form.
The Helmets may be classed as the hemispherical, the
cylindrical, the conical, the wide-rimmed (Petasus form),
and the nasal. Besides which are some varieties of pecu-
which may be better noticed after the
liar construction,

more general forms have been considered.

The word Helm among the Northern nations merely
meant a covering of any kind: the Wcerhelm of the
Anglo-Saxons was the little cap worn by the soldier,
of which we have seen many examples in our previous

inquiries. But from the end of the twelfth century,

when the great casque enclosing the whole head, like
that seen on the second seal of King Eichard, came
into use, the term helm or heaume was restricted to
this new kind of headpiece.
The flat-topped Helm forming a single structure, appears
usually in one of the following fashions. I. cylinder A
having bands in front forming a cross, and sometimes
similar bands crossing on the crown, which is slightly

convex or conical; two horizontal clefts for vision, but

without holes for breathing. Examples occur in our
woodcut, No. 71, fig. 1, from the statue of Hugh Fitz
Eudo, in Kirkstead Chapel, Lincolnshire; in the chess-
280 ANCIENT ARMOUR

knight (woodcut 57) ; in the Whitworth effigy (Stothard,

PL xxiv.) in the carvings of the Presbytery arcade of
;

Worcester Cathedral (woodcut 71, fig. 2); all these

early in the century and in the groups of the Painted
:

Chamber. II. A
cylinder with the cross-bands as before ;
but, in addition to the ocularium, having apertures for
breathing. This kind is seen in our woodcut 71, fig. 3,
from Hefner's Trachten ; in the Walkerne effigy (Hollis,
Pt. i.) ;
in the sculptures of the front of Wells Cathedral,
circa 1225 ;
in the miniatures of the Lives of the Offas

(Cott.MS., Nero, D. i.) and in the seal of Hugo de Vere,

;

earl of Oxford (woodcut 71, fig.

4). III. cylinder A
with ocularium and breathing-holes, but not having the
cross-bands: woodcut 71, fig. 5, from the very curious

drawing on folio 27 of Harl. MS. 3,244, date about 1250.

IV. In this variety, the front part. is rounded below, has
ocularium, but not any breathing-holes woodcut 71, fig. :

6, from the seal of Alexander II. of Scotland, 1214

1249 (Cott. Charter, xix. 2); and compare the seal of
Louis the Dauphin, circa 1216. V. This kind resembles
the last, provided with apertures for
except that it is

breathing. A
good example is furnished by the seal of
Eobert Eitz Walter, of the second half of the century :

woodcut 71, fig. 7.

We must remark also the difference existing among
these helms on the point of ornament. Some are alto-

gether plain; as in our woodcuts 57 and 71, and the

Whitworth effigy (Stothard, PL xxiv.): others have a
profusion of ornament, as in the knightly figure from
Eoy. MS. 2, A. xxii. (woodcut, Ho. 62). The term
cylindrical, which has been applied to them, must not

always be understood literally. In woodcut No. 57 we

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 281

have a true cylinder ;

but in other cases, the helm swells
at the sides, taking the "barrel" form, as in the second

seal of Henry (woodcut 81); or, when viewed in

III.

profile, it presents a concave line behind, as

in the seal
of De Quinci (woodcut, No. 87), or, more strikingly, in
the example at Worcester (woodcut 71, fig. 2).
The helm was worn over the coif of chain-mail. An
ivory carving engraved in the sixteenth volume of the

Archceologia affords an excellent illustration of this

usage; the knight being there represented in the act
of raising his helm from his head armed in the coiffe
de mailles.
The flat-topped cylindrical Helm, with moveable ven-
tail,appears about the middle of the century. The
figure of Ferdinand, King of Castille, in the windows
of Chartres Cathedral, affords a good example. He
died in 1252: the monument is engraved by "Willemin,
vol. i.,
PL xcvu. : the helm is fig. 8 of our cut 71.
A real helm of this type is in the Tower collection :

the ventail opens by means of hinges on the side (see

Archseol. Journal, vol. viii., p. 420, and our woodcut 71,

fig. 9). It is entirely of iron, weighing 131b. 8oz. And

it isnot unworthy of remark, that a much later helm,
one with the beaked visor characteristic of the close of
the fourteenth century, also in the Tower of London,
differs in weight from the above example by only four

ounces. (Archeeol. Journal, vol. ix., p. 93.) The move-

able ventail seems to be portrayed also on the second
seal of Henry III., and on the seal of Edward I. (wood-

cuts, No. 81 and 85).

About 1270 the round-topped Helm came into vogue :

not, however, to the entire exclusion of the old fashion,

282 ANCIENT AKMOUR

of which examples are found to the end of this century,

and even during a portion of the next. See our Plate
LXXI., fig. 10, from Cotton Eoll, xv. 7. The seal of Patrick

Dunbar, tenth March, affords another good illus-

earl of

tration of the helm with round crown engraved in Laing's :

"Ancient Scottish Seals," p. 54. It has moveable vent-ail,

with apertures for sight and breathing, as before. Other
instances occur in the groups of the " Painted Chamber"
and the " Lives of the Offas." A
very curious variety of
this type is furnished in the seal of Louis of Savoy, 1294 ;

where the ventail has the form of an eagle displayed,

the clefts for sight and air being contrived between the

plumes of the wings. (Figured by Cibrario, in the Si-

gilli de* Principi di Savoia, PI. xxx., and in our wood-
cut,No. 71, fig. 11.)
About 1280 the Helm takes the " sugar-loaf" form;
having bands which make a cross in the front of it. See
woodcut, No. 71, fig. 12, from Eoy. MS. 20, D. i.; and
the brass of Sir Eoger de Trumpington, 1289 (woodcut,
No. 73). It will be observed that this kind of heaume
is continued so low as to rest on the shoulders.
It is not improbable that some of these casques were
formed in part of leather. An early helm made of cuir-
bouilli, with iron bands, is figured by Hefner (Trachten,
Pt. ii.,
PL LXVIII.) ;
and for the Windsor tournament of
1278, were provided "xxxvm. galee de cor."
The helm was made fast by laces. In the Eomance of
Perceval, the hero
*'
Prant ses armes et s'
aparoille :

Sans atargier haubert vest,

le

L'iaume lace sans mil arest," &c. Fol. 237.

These laces are very clearly shewn in our engravings,

PLATE LXXIL] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 283
 ANCIENT ARMOUR AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 285

Nos. 47 and 62; from Eoy. MSS., 20, D. i. and

2, A. xxii.
In order to recover the helm if struck off in the melee
it was attached to some part of

the knight's equipment by a

chain. The brass of Sir Roger
de Triimpington (cut, No. 73)

supplies
us with an illustration.
And this usage is noticed in the
Romance of Le tournois de Chau-

venei, written about 1285 :

**
Chescun son hiaume en sa chaaine,
Qui de bons cous attent Festraine."
Vers 3,583.

Crests are frequently found sur-

mounting the helm at the close of

this century ;
but they are not of
that distinctive kind, consisting
of lions, griffins, eagles, wings,
NO. 73.
axes, and-so-forth, which appear
in such diversity during the next age. They are merely
of the fan form. The seal of De Quinci, indeed, seems an
evidence to the contrary, and has been often described as
an instance of a helm of the early part of the thirteenth
century bearing a wyvern for a crest (woodcut, No. 87).
But the wyvern in the upper part of this seal seems to be

placed there merely to fill up the space between the let-

ters, and belongs to the legend, not to the effigy ; just as
we see a flower occupying the space beneath the lion's

feet, and in the obverse of the

the wyvern filling up
seal,
the void beneath the horse and under the housing. Heral-
dic bearings do in fact appear on the casques of several
286 ANCIENT ARMOUR

figures previously to 1300. But they form part of the

headpiece itself: they do not surmount it. The helm of
Eichard the First has a lion, but it is a figure embossed
or painted on a part of the casque. The well-known
effigy of a Plantagenet (Stothard, PL n.) is an analogous
instance. The monument of Le Botiler at St. Bride's,

Glamorganshire, (woodcut, No. 74,) affords another ex-

ample: and in the curious helm of Louis of Savoy
(woodcut 71, fig. 11) we have the heraldic eagle form-

ing the visor of the casque, while the crest is composed

of the usual fan ornament. This fan we have already
seen on the helm of Eichard I., but it does not come
into general use till towards the close of the thirteenth

century. See examples on our woodcuts, Nos. 71 and

72. Other instances may be found in Laing's " Scottish
Seals," p. 54 ;
in the Lives of the Offas, Cott. MS., Nero,
D. and in great number among the miniatures of
i.
;

Eoy. MS. 20, D. i., where they are attached to the

heads of the horses as well as to the helms. At the
Windsor tournament in 1278, also, crests were provided
both for man and horse :

" It cresta
p qualibet galea
* i. )
..
-
T .
[ Sm. LXXVI. Crest."
It p quolibet equo j. cresta ]

And for the making of these crests, calf-skins and parch-

ment were employed :

"LXXVI. d."
pell' vituP p crest faciend' p'c pell' iij.
" It Sm. LXXVI.
p qualibet cresta j. pell' parcamen rud'. pell' rud'
8
pcameni ."

Occasionally feathers supply the place of the fan orna-

ment. A
plume of seven peacock's feathers surmounts a

8
Arcliceologia, vol. xvii. pp. 302 and 305.
PLATE LXXIV.] AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 287
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE.

crowned helm on 205 of Eoy. MS. 20, D. i. and

folio ;

V0
similar examples occur at if. 60 and 239 V0 of the same
. .

manuscript. Compare also Add. MS. 15,268 both these :

books being of the close of the century.

Another curious appendage to the knightly helm of
this time consisted of Horns made, as we learn from
;

Guillaume le Breton, of whalebone, and borne for the

purpose of striking terror by the gigantic appearance of
the wearer. The Count of Boulogne at the Battle of
Bovines, in 1214, adopts this expedient:
" Cornua
conus agit, superasque eduxit in auras,
E costis assumpta nigris quas faucis in antro
Branchia balenae Britici colit incola ponti :

Ut qui magnus erat magnae super addita moli

Majorem faceret phantastica pompa videri."
Philipp., lib. xi. 322.

The Helmsof kings have a crown encircling them, as

seen in the seals of Henry III. and Edward I. of Eng-
land (woodcuts, No. 79, 81 and 85); but on the capelline
of King John is no such ornament. See also our en-

graving, No. 72. The crown is occasionally placed on

the coif of chain-mail as on folio 7 of the Lives of the
:

Offas (woodcut, No. 80), and in the pictures of the

Painted Chamber.
Of the smaller casque helmet, or chapel-de-fer we
have already observed that some were worn beneath the
coif-de-mailles. Others were placed above it, or formed
of themselves the whole
arming of the head. They are

cylindrical, hemispherical, conical, wide-rimmed, and of

the nasal kind. The first-named
appears in our woodcut,
No. 53, from Harl. MS. 5,102, of the
beginning of the
It is found also on the seal of St.
century. Louis, and
in the effigy in the
Temple Church, figured by Stothard,
u
290 ANCIENT ARMOUR

PI. x. The rounded helmet occurs on the seal of King

John (woodcut 52); our engraving, No. 53, from
in
Harl. MS. 5,102, early in the century; and in Nos. 49
and 74, both monuments of the close of this period. It
appears plentifully in Eoy. MS. 20, D. i., and in the
groups of the Painted Chamber. The conical chapel is
seen in our engraving, No. 58 ;
it occurs also in Harl.
MS. 1,527, and in the Painted Chamber and Lives of
the Offas. The Wide-rimmed Helmet is found through-
out this century. An early example appears in our
engraving, No. 50, from Harl.
MS. 4,751. The figure here
given is from Add. MS. 11,639,
fol. 520 ;
of the close of the cen-

tury. It represents Goliath, and

the casque is thus painted:
crown, iron-colour; rim and
crest, gold. The book is in

Hebrew, but believed to have

been written in Germany. See
also our woodcut, No. 49, from
Add. MS. 15,268; and fiefher's
Plate v. ; and the pictures of the
Painted Chamber. A good ex-
ample in sculpture occurs in the
arcade of the north aisle of the

Lady Chapel at Worcester Ca-

thedral. On Cotton Eoll, xv. 7,
a variety of this headpiece has
an upright spike at the top. In the Archaeological
Journal, vol. viii. p. 319, is engraved a knightly effigy
in which the wide and pointed iron-hat is worn over a
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 291

close skull-cap of plate, to which isjoined a coif of chain-

mail. The Nasal Helmet is found of three varieties :

the cylindrical, the round-topped, and the conical. The

first occurs on the monumental effigy of Eaoul De Beau-

mont, in the abbey of Estival, founded by him in 1210.

(Kerrich Collections, Add. MS. 6,728.) The hemispherical
appears in the Lives of the Offas and the
Painted Chamber, and on Plate xxxm. of
Hefner. The pointed crown is found
among the subjects of the Painted Cham-
ber, ofwhich the following is an example.
See also our woodcut, No. 82. No 76
Besides the above, which are the usual types of casque
found in the thirteenth century, there are some varieties
of occasional appearance. Among these may be men-
tioned the open-faced helmet of the Temple effigy figured

by Stothard, PI. xv. In this curious example, all the

head above the neck cased in a defence of some rigid
is

material (metal or cuir-bouilli ?), and encircled by a band

or turban. Another singular headpiece occurs on folio 7
of the Lives of the Offas (woodcut, No. where the
80) ;

coif of banded-mail is covered in front with a plate, per-

and breathing, and strengthened with
forated for vision
the cross-bands already seen in the knightly heaume.
Helmets formed of a framework of metal covering a cap
of leather, similar to the defence noticed at an earlier

period (see page 69), seem to have been in use during this
century. Hefner has figured the metal portion of a real
one found in the island of Negropont, which he assigns to
this period (Trachten, PL
LXIII.) It closely resembles the
bronze example discovered at Leckhampton (woodcut 18),

consisting of a hoop from which spring two arcs of metal

U 2
292 ANCIENT ARMOUR

crossing at the crown. Of similar mixed materials ap-

be those helmets seen in the groups of the Painted
pear to
Chamber, where a frame of gold-colour encloses a cap of
crimson or purple (Plates xxxv. and xxxvi.). And com-
pare our woodcut, "No. 82, also from the Painted Chamber,
in which the frame of the headpiece is of iron-colour,
while the enclosed portion is painted yellow.
The Eassinet and Cervelliere are named in documents
of this time, but do not appear to have been anything
more than the round-topped skull-cap already noticed.
The bassinet is mentioned in the will of Odo de Bossi-
lion in 1298, cited by Ducange*; a monument further
curious from its giving us the detail of a knight's equip-
ment in these days :

" Idem do domino Petro de Monte Ancelini predicto cen-

et lego
tum libras unam Integram Armaturam de Armaturis
Turonenses et
meis, videlicet meum heaume a vissere, nieum bassignetum, meum
porpoinctum de cendallo, meum u
godbertum meam gorgretam, meas ,

buculas x meum gaudichetum, meas trumulieresy d'acier, meos cuis-

,

sellos, meos chantones 2 ,

meum magnum cutellum, et meam parvam
ensem."

The Bassinet with camail attached is not a charac-

teristic of this century, though isolated examples may
perhaps be found. The knightly effigy at Ashington,

Somersetshire, already noticed, seems to be one of these :

the mail-coif being fixed to the plate-cap by rivets.

(Archseol. Journ., vol. viii. p. 319.) It will be remarked

in that very valuable monument, the Pictures of the
Painted Chamber, that the skull-caps of plate are in

1
Glossar., v. Armatura. body-armour, the ailettes.
u 7
hauberk. greaves.
x shields
? Perhaps, coining with the gloves :
gants ? See the glossarists.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 293

many instances so placed on the coif-de-mailles as to

shew very clearly that the two defences are quite dis-
tinct.

Guiart, in the Chronique Metrique, frequently

uses the
name cervelliere:

" Sus
hyaumes et sus cervelieres
Prennent plommees a descendre
Et hachetes pour tout porfendre." Line 1912.
" Aucuns d'entr'eus testes desnuent

De hyaumes et de cervelieres." Line 5267.

"
Hauberjons et cervelieres,
Gantlez, tacles et gorgieres." Line 5467.

An amusing tale is told in the Chronicon Nonantula-

num, of the invention of the cervelliereby Michael Scot,

"Astrologus Friderici Imperatoris familiaris." Having
foreseen that he should meet his death from the fall of a
stone of two ounces weight upon his head, he contrived
a cap (infulam) of plate-iron. But being at mass one day,
at the exaltation of the host, he reverently lifted his cap,
when a little stone fell upon his head, and inflicted a
slight wound. Weighing the stone, he found it to be

exactly two ounces and then, knowing his doom

;
to be

sealed, he arranged his worldly affairs and died.

From the manuscript collection of
" Proverbes" of the

thirteenth century, preserved in the Imperial Library at

Paris, and cited by Le Grand d'Aussy in the Vie privee

des Francois*, we learn that the "Heaumes de Poitiers"
had obtained the highest meed of approbation.
The ordinary SHIELD of this period was the triangu-
lar : its dimensions decreasing as the century advanced.

a
Vol. in. p. 403.
294 ANCIENT ARMOUR

It was bowed or flat. Other targets of this time are the

kite-shaped, the pear-shaped, the heart-shaped, the round,
the quadrangular, and a shield angular at the top and
rounded below.
The triangular, bowed shield appears in our engrav-

ings, Nos. 52, 53, 57 and 87 ;

all early examples. Later
instances occur in the seal of Edward I. (No. 85), and our
woodcut, No. 75, from Add. MS. 11,639. The flat tri-
is found in the very curious
angular shield figure on folio
27 of Harl. MS. 3,244, circa 1250; in the brass of Sir
John D'Aubernoun, 1277 (woodcut, No. 55); in the
glass-painting at Oxford Cathedral (woodcut, No. 77);
and in the effigy of Le Botiler (woodcut, No. 74): the
last two monuments, of the close of the century. See
also Painted Chamber, Plate xxxvi. It will be observed
that the shield of D' Aubernoun is
curiously small. Those
of Crouchback and "William de Valence on their tombs
are scarcely larger. (Stothard, PL XLIII. and The
XLIV.)
Kite-shaped shield appears very frequently in Eoy. MS.
20, D. a subject from which, with this form of target,
i.
;

is given in our woodcut, No. 72. It occurs also in Harl.

MS. 1,527, and on Plate xxxvi. of the Painted Chamber.
This form, like the foregoing, is sometimes bowed and
sometimes flat. The Pear-shaped variety is found on the
seal of Saer de Quinci, 1210 19, engraved in Laing's
Ancient Scottish Seals, PL xi. and on that of John de
;

Methkil, 1220 c.
(Laing, PL vn. fig. 3). Another Scot-
tish seal gives us the Heart-shaped
shield, a rare and
early example (Laing, PL x. fig. 11). The Eound tar-

get supported by guige appears in a group of fighters

its

in Harl. MS. 1,527; again in the Malvern

effigy (Stot-
hard, PL xix.); in the Lives of the Offas; and among
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 295

the pictures of the Painted Chamber. The quadrangular

bowed shield is figured in our woodcut, No. 88, from a
Tower commemorating a wager of battle in the
Eoll,

reign of Henry III. The shield made angular at top

and rounded below may be found on Plate xxxi. of the
Painted Chamber, and occurs again on the seal of a
Melros charter of 1285, engraved on page 30 of Laing's
Scottish Seals. It is scarcely necessary to say that the

types which we have endeavoured to distinguish will be

found somewhat varied in particular examples to de- :

scribe every modification of the general forms we have

would be a tedious and a useless task.
detected,
The Boss is still retained in some of the shields of this
time, though but rarely. It appears in our woodcuts,
Nos. 75 and 88, and on folio 4 of the Lives of the Offas.
The Enarmes, or strapsby which the knight sustained
his shield in combat, are well shewn in the effigy of De
Shurland (Stothard, PL XLI.), and receive some further
illustration from the statues of De Vere at Hatfield

Broadoak, Essex, and of Brian Fitz Alan at Bedale,

Yorkshire. Compare also folio 4 of the Lives of the

Offas, and Plate xxxvni. of the Painted Chamber. The

Guige, or strap by which the shield was hung round the
neck, is a usual adjunct to this defence during the whole
of the century, and is sometimes of a highly enriched
character. Many of our woodcuts shew the manner of
its use.

From a passage of " The Ancren Biwle," lately printed

by the Camden Society, from a MS. of the thirteenth cen-
tury, we learn that the materials of the shield at this time
were "wood, leather, and painting." (p. 393.)
These
ingredients frequently reappear in the real targets of a
296 ANCIENT ARMOUR

later time which have been saved from the destruction

of passing centuries.
Armorial bearings are the usual adornment of the
knightly shield throughout this period; and the field
was sometimes richly diapered, as in this example from
the window of the north transept of Oxford Cathedral.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 297

Compare the monument of De Yere at Hatfield (Stothard,

PL xxxvi.) Whereheraldic devices are not found, a

"pattern" generally takes their place a cross, a rosette,

:

a star, a fret, or some such simple ornament. In other

cases the face of the shield is painted of a single colour.
In the effigies placed over the tombs of the knights, the
shield is usually represented as borne on the arm. The
figure of "William de Yalence in Westminster Abbey has
it slung at the hip an arrangement frequently adopted
;

in French monuments, and occasionally in those of other

continental countries.
Another continental custom sometimes imitated by
our own countrymen, was that of adorning the walls of
the banqueting-hall on great occasions with the shields
of distinguished heroes. When, in 1254, the English
king entertained the French monarch in the Temple in
Paris, "the banquet was given," says Matthew Paris,
" in the
great hall of the Temple, in which were hung
up, according to the continental custom, as many bucklers
as the four walls could hold. Amongst others was seen
the shield of Eichard, king of England, concerning which
a witty person present said to King Henry, "Why, my

Lord, have you invited the French to dine with you in

this house ? See, there is the shield of the noble-hearted

English king, Eichard! your guests will be unable to

1
eat without fear and trembling *."
From the curious volume already cited, the Ancren
Rule, we learn that at the demise of a brave knight, his
shieldwas hung aloft on the church walls, in honour and
remembrance of his valorous deeds.

b
Paris, 773.
298 ANCIENT ARMOUR

The Spur of this century is of three kinds : the simple

goad, the ball-and-spike, and the rowel. The goad is

sometimes straight, sometimes curved. The straight
spike is seen in this example of an iron spur found in
the churchyard of Chesterford, Cambridgeshire, and now

preserved in the collection of the Hon. Kichard Neville.

No. 78.

Compare our engravings, Nos. 58 and 85. The curved

goad appears in woodcuts 55 and 73. Our engravings,
Nos. 62, 72 and 81 shew the ball-and-spike kind; of
which we have already seen examples in the statues of
Henry II. and Eichard I. at Fontevraud. The rowel
spur found but in one or two instances during this
is

century. It is represented on the seal of Henry III.,

here given; where, in order to bring up the rowel to
the middle of the heel, the seal-engraver has resorted to
the singular expedient of raising the field into a sort
of hillock, on the top of which he has sculptured the
star-like rowel. See Harleian Charter, 43, C. 38. The
rowel spur again appears on the effigy of Le Botiler

(woodcut, No. 74). It is, however, rather a character-

istic of the fourteenth than of this century ; and, gene-
rally speaking, its presence alone Should lead one to
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 299

GEEAT SEAL OF KING HENRY III.

No. 79.

hesitate long before assigning a monument to the earlier

period, even though should exhibit all the other fea-

it

tures of the more ancient costume. The monument of

Johan Le Botiler, just named, is by no means exempt
from the operation of this rule.
The shank of the spur is curved, each end being
formed into a loop to receive the strap. The strap itself
buckling over the instep. See Stothard's Plates
is single,

xvn. and xxn. Some exceptions occur to this usual

arrangement. In the effigy of a De L'Isle, figured by
300 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Stothard, Plate xx., the outer shank is flattened into a

trefoil and rivetted upon the leather. In the figure at
Norton, Durham, (woodcut, No. 70,) the shanks termi-
nate in rings, and two straps are employed to fix the

spur to the foot. Both straps and spurs are occasionally

shewn of an enriched character. On folio 27 of Harl.
MS. 3,244, the spur is ornamented with a row of studs
or bosses. In the brass at Acton, Suffolk, 1302 ("Waller,
Pt. ii.),
the pattern consists of rosettes.
The gilded spurs of the knights occasionally became
the trophy of a victory ; as in the case of the battle of

Courtray, in 1302. More than five hundred pairs, Frois-

were suspended in a chapel of the church
sart tells us,

of Our Lady of Courtray

" Et ces
eperons avoient jadis
:

ete des seigneurs de France, qui avoient ete morts en

la dite bataille ;
et en faisoient ceux de Courtray tous
c
les ans, pour le triomphe, tres grand solemnite ."

The Beard during this century appears to have been

usually worn by the aged only. The young knight has
commonly neither beard nor moustache indeed, this im- :

berbed state of the "Western cavaliers is made a reproach

to them by the Saracens. The Sultan, we are told by
Matthew Paris, under 1250, addressing his chiefs, in arms
against the forces of St. Louis, exclaimed: ""What rash
madness excites these men to attack us and endeavour
to deprive us of our inheritance, who have inhabited this
noble country since the Flood ? certain motive, how- A
ever slight, urges the Christians to covet the land which

they call but what have they to do with Egypt ?

Holy :

Unfit indeed are they to lord it over a land which is

Froissart, bk. ii. eh. 200, ed. Buchon.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 301

watered and enriched by the river sent from Paradise :

beardless, shorn men, unwarlike and imbecile, more like

d
women than men, what rash daring is this !"
For the arrangement of the beard of this time, see the
effigies of King John and Henry III. (Stothard, Plates

xi. and xxxi.), and Plate xxxix. of the Painted Chamber.

The fashion of the Hair differs considerably in the first
and second portions of the century. In both it was cut
short at the forehead : but in the first half it was allowed
some length at the sides of
to fall in its natural flow to

the head and behind ; while, in the second, it was most

carefully arranged in large curls, which cover the ears,

and give a strongly marked character to the monuments
of this time. In the effigy of King John at Worcester,
the side hair cut sheer off just below the ear.
is In the
figure of Prince John, the son of St. Louis, in the Abbey
Church of St. Denis, the hair falls in a natural ringlet to
6
the neck . The large and formal curl of the later period

is well shewn in the knightly sculpture from Norton

Church, Durham (woodcut, No. 70). See also the statue

of Henry III. (Stothard, PI. xxxi.), and the series of
monumental figures sculptured in 1263-4 by order of
St. Louis, to perpetuate the memory of his ancestors
entombed at St. Denis. (Guilhermy, pp. 218, 223, 225
and 228.)
The SPEAR for war of the thirteenth century offers no

change from that of the preceding age. The shaft of it

is still uniform from end to end, not yet being hollowed

out for the grip, as in the lance of a later date. The

d PL and by
Page 686. by WUlemin, vol. i., XCI. ;

e
He died in 1247. The effigy is figured Guilhermy, page 164.
302 ANCIENT ARMOUR

head is of three forms: the lozenge, the leaf, and the

barbed. The lozenge spear-head
the most usual, and
is

appears in the accompanying group from the Lives of the

Two Offas, Cott. MS., Nero, D. i. fol. 7. See also our
woodcuts, No. 62 and 75. The leaf-shaped head occurs on
fol. 4 of Nero, D. i.; on fol. 27 of Harl. MS. 3,244; and

on the Shurland monument (Stothard, PL XLI.) The

barbed spear was probably not considered a knightly
weapon, but carried by soldiers of an inferior grade. At
all events, we occasionally find men-at-arms furnished
with it, as in Eoy. MS. 20, D. i.,
a book of about the close
of this century. And earlier in the period, at the battle of
Bovines in 121 4, we have the curious account of Kigord,

shewing the jeopardy in which the life of King Philip

was placed through the attack of a soldier armed with a
spear of this description. This soldier of the emperor's
host struck at the neck of the king, the usual point of

attack, and though the gorget of the monarch prevented

the weapon from inflicting any wound, the barbs of the

spear became so firmly fixed between the hauberk and

the head-defence, that the sturdy German was enabled
to pull Philippe Auguste from his horse and lay him
prone at his feet. The king managed to raise himself
again, but the soldier held firm. The emperor, who was
near at hand, rushed forward to terminate the strife by
the death of his rival, and all seemed over. Galon de
Montigny meanwhile, the Bannerer of the king, pro-
claimed the danger of his master by incessantly raising
and lowering the Standard over the spot where this con-
test was taking place. The French were animated to
new exertions : a band of seigneurs and gentlemen cut
their way to the spot where the king was struggling in
PLATE LXXX.J AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 303
 ANCIENT ARMOUR AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 305

unequal conflict with his foes : the spearman, struck down

or slain, let go his hold the fight continued, furiously
:

as ever, but in numbers less disproportionate than before :

Etienne de Longchamp, one of the bravest of the French

nobles, is slain by the side of the

king Pierre Tristan,:

another distinguished knight, leaps from his steed, and

gives it to his monarch Guillaume des Barres at this

:

moment comes up with reinforcements, charges the Ger-

man host with impetuous bravery, and turns their tri-

umph into a rout.

The Lance is
occasionally furnished with a streamer,
as at a former period. It is seen in
our last engraving

(No. 80), from the Lives of the Offas; and again in

woodcuts, Nos. 55 and 62. Compare also Harl. MS.
3,244, 27, and other groups from the Lives of the
fol.

Offas. In some of these examples, the lance-flag is en-

signed with a cross only ; in others it is quite blank in :

others, again,., as the brass of D'Aubernoun, it bears a

device clearly heraldic.
In a few rare instances the spear is represented on the
toinb of the knight. The necessity of reducing it far
beneath its legitimate proportions, in order to be com-
prised within the narrow limits of the sepulchral memo-
rial, would furnish a sufficient reason for its being gene-

rally excluded from the monumental design: but it is

not improbable that mere fashion (for the tomb has its

fashions) contributed in some degree to this exclusion;

because we find that the royal and knightly seals, which
at a previous date constantly exhibited the lance with
itsstreamer, now more usually represent the warrior
armed with the sword. The lance is found on the brass
of D'Aubernoun (woodcut, No. 55), on the sculptured
306 ANCIENT ARMOUR

effigy ofa knight in the churchyard of Buabon, in

Wales, and in the incised slab at Ashington, Somerset-

shire, figured in the Archaeological Journal, vol. viii.

p. 319.
For the hastilude, the spear-head was blunted, and
" about the breadth of a small knife
;" as we learn from
Matthew Paris, in his account of the Bound-Table Game
held at the Abbey of Wallenden in 1252. Here, one of
the knights, Eoger de Lemburn, aimed his weapon, the

point of which was not blunted as it ought to have been,

in such a way that it entered under the helm of his ad-

versary, Arnold de Montigny, and pierced his throat;

for he was uncovered in that part, and without a collar

(car ens collar io). The Earl of Gloucester with the other

knights immediately sought to extract the fragment of

the lance, and when he had succeeded in withdrawing the
wooden shaft of it,
the iron head remained behind: on
this being at length extracted, and examined by the sur-
rounding knights, it was found to be very sharp at the
point, dagger; though it ought to have been
like a

blunt, and about as broad as a small

knife. Its shape

was like that of a ploughshare on a small

whence scale,
it was commonly called a little plough
(yomerulus\ and in
French, soket*. We have here the description of two
spear -heads very distinct in character: one rebated for
the Jousts of Peace, seemingly the prototype of the coro-
nel which afterwards replaced it ; and the other a sharp

instrument, the form of which we may perhaps recognise

among the tilting weapons of the Triumph of Maximilian.
See, for instance, the group of knights armed for the
" Course
appelee Bund."
f
Paris, p. 730.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 307

When, had been made with the

in battle, the charge

Lance, and that weapon was no longer available in the

melee, it was cast aside, and the conquest carried on
with the Sword :

"
Apres le froisseis des Lances,
Qui ja sont par terre semees,
Giettent mains a blanches espees,
ils
Desquels s'entr'envaissent,
Hyaumes e bacinets tentissent
E plusieurs autres ferreures.
Coutiaux trespercent armeures." Guiart.

SECOND GREAT SEAL OF KING HENEY III.

No. 81.

The knightly SWORD of this day resembled in its essen-

x 2
308 ANCIENT ARMOUR

tials that of the preceding century :

indeed, it did not

materially change during the whole Gothic period. The

blade was straight, broad, double-edged, and pointed.
The type is well shewn in the second seal of Henry III.
(woodcut, No. 81).
The cross-piece was usually curved towards the blade,
as represented in several of our engravings. Sometimes
this curved guard threw out a kind of cusp in the
middle, as in the sculpture at Haseley, (woodcut 46,)
and the effigy figured by Stothard, Plate xx. The cross-

bar was at other times straight, as in the seal of King

John (woodcut, No. 52), and in our other woodcuts num-
bered 53, 56, and 63. Compare the sword of De Yere
(Stothard, PI. xxxvi.). A variety of
the straight guard
forms also a cusp over the centre of the blade, as in the

example given in our engraving, No. 80. The knightly

effigy in "Walkerne Church (Hollis, Pt. i.) has a sword-

guard in the form of a chevron. Edward I., on his

great seal, (woodcut, No. 85,) offers us a further variety,
in which the outline somewhat resembles that of the
Greek bow.
The pommel of the sword during this century takes

many the round, the trefoil, the cinquefoil, the

forms :

rosette, the lozenge, the conical, the pear-shaped, the

square, and the fleur-de-lis. The round is either plain

or ornamented on its sides in the latter case the orna-
:

ment usually a cross, or a shield of arms.

is The plain
round pommel is generally wheel-formed ; that is, it has
a projection in the centre something like the nave of a
wheel. See Journal of Archaeological Association, vol. i.

p. 336. The sacred symbol of the Cross is very fre-

quently found on the circular pommel ;
as in our wood-
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 309

cuts, No. 55 and 77. The arms appears in our

shield of

engraving, No. 70. Compare the Fitz-Alan monument

(Hollis, Pt. iv.).
The trefoil pommel is represented in
our cuts, No. 56 and 74 the cinquefoil, on our en-
;

graving, No. 64, and in Plate xx. of Stothard's Monu-

ments. The rose form occurs in our woodcut, No. 62 ;

the lozenge on the effigy of King John (Stothard, PL

XL); the conical, in our print, No. 63; the pear-shaped,

in Stothard's 37th Plate ;
the square, on Plate xxxv. of
the Painted Chamber; and the fleur-de-lis on the seal
of Edward I. (woodcut, No. 85).
The sword-handle is sometimes of a highly enriched
character. That of King John, on his monument in
"Worcester Cathedral, represents a weapon in which both

pommel and were inlaid with precious stones.

cross-bar
Ornamental grips are seen in the monument of Crouch-
back (Stothard, PL XLIII. fig. 4), and the brass of De
Bures, 1302 (Waller, Pt. ii.).

The Sheath also occasionally exhibits enrichments.

These are either metal harnessings, of Gothic patterns,
similar to the architectural designs of the day, as in our

woodcut, No. 70, and the effigy of Brian, lord Fitz-Alan

is embellished from end
(Hollis, Pt. iv.) ; or the scabbard
to end with a series of shields of arms, as in our en-

graving, No. 73, and the statue of De Montfort (Stothard,

PL xxxix.). These escutcheons were probably tinctured
by means of enamel.
The characteristic Sword-Belt of this century consisted
of two straps, a long and a short one. The long strap
was looped to the scabbard about two hands-breadths
from the top, passed round the waist, and fastened to the
buckle in front, leaving a long end tipped with a metal
310 ANCIENT ARMOUR

tag. The short strap held the buckle, and was split into
two thongs, one of which was laced into the top of the
(leather) scabbard; the other, passing obliquely across
the sheath, being laced into the loop of the long strap
below. See our woodcuts, Nos. 55 and 73. A
variety
of this mode consisted in attaching the long and short

straps to the scabbard by ring-lockets of metal, in lieu

of the loop and lacings. This occurs late in the century.
See woodcut, No. 70, and the effigy of Brian Fitz-Alan

(Hollis, Pt. iv.). The common sword-belt of the soldiery

was formed on the old plan at one end of a broad strap
:

were two clefts, through which the two thongs into

which the other end was split were passed and tied into
a knot. See woodcut, No. 63. The figures there given

represent the soldiers of Herod engaged in the Massacre

of the Innocents. The knightly sword-belt is often
highly enriched ; being covered with elaborate patterns,
worked in the most brilliant colours, and harnessed with
bars and bosses of gilt metal, or perhaps of gold itself;
the bosses, towards the end of the period, taking not un-

frequently the form of lions' heads. The ornament of

bars only, appears on a Temple Church effigy, figured by

Hollis, Pt. i. ; of bars and rosettes, in Stothard's 15th

and 45th Plates; of a painted pattern, in Plate xxi. of
Stothard's work of bosses in the form of lions' heads, in
;

Part iv. of Hollis. The sword-belt of Edmund Crouch-

back is enriched with heraldic bearings. See Stothard,
PI. XLIII. detail 1.
Minute variations from the above types of Sword-belt
may be found, but do not seem to require a particular
description. "We must not omit to remark, however,

that, in some early monuments of this period, the sword

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 311

is represented as worn at the right side of the warrior.

Three effigies in the Temple Church, London, exhibit
this arrangement.

At York, on Christmas- day, 1252, King Henry III.

conferred knighthood on the young king of Scotland ;

who, the day following, espoused the Princess Mar-

garet, daughter of Henry, amidst great rejoicings and a
splendid ceremonial. To obtain a detailed description
of the Sword used by the king of England on this occa-
sion was scarcely within the hope of the archaeologist ;.

but, singularly enough, such an account, of curious mi-

nuteness, has come down to us. It is preserved in the

Tower, (Close Eolls, 36 H. III. m. 31,) and has been

Printed in Walpole's " Painting in England" (vol. i.

chap. 1) :

"Mandatum Edwardo de Westm. quod cum festi-

est

natione perquirat quendam pulchrum gladium et scau-

berg. ejusdem de serico, et pomellum de argento bene et

ornate cooperiri, et quandam pulcram zonam eidem pendi

faciat, ita quod gladium ilium sic factum habeat apud

Ebor., de quo Eex Alexandrum Eegem Scotise illustrem

cingulo militari decorare possit in instanti festo Nativi-

tatis Dominicae. Teste Eege apud Lychfeld xxi. die
Novembr. Per ipsum Eegem."
Besides the ordinary knightly sword of the thirteenth

century, the size of which is authenticated by many ex-

isting monuments, we have the evidence of cotemporary
writers that swords of differing sizes were employed by
different nations. The Germans affected a large brand,
the French a shorter weapon. Thus Guiart :

" A grans espees d'Allemagne

Leur tranchent souvent les poins outre."
312 ANCIENT ARMOUR
# # *. #
" La Francois espees reportent
Courtes et roides, dont ils taillent."

And again, under 1301 :

"
Epees viennent aux services
Et sont de diverses semblances,
Mes Erancois, qui d' accoutumance
Les ont courtes, assez legieres,
Gietent aux Elamans vers les chieres."

In the description of the Battle of Benevento, in 1266,

Hugues de Bau^oi, an eye-witness of the conflict, tells
us that the troops of Manfred, Germans and Saracens,

fought with long swords, axes and maces ;

but the

French, coming to close quarters, pierced them with

" ex brevibus
their short swords spathis suis eorum:

latera perfodiebant 8 . Guillaume de Nangis gives similar

testimony How far these German weapons approached
11
.

the great two-hand swords of later times, or the French

reverted to the short blade of the Eomans, it is vain to

inquire. Commentators have seen in the above descrip-

tions both the types here named; but the evidence of

pictorial monuments does not confirm the conclusion.

As and small are but comparative terms, it is
large
probable that the swords of the French and Germans
differed in no great degree.

Other varieties of Sword which appear in the thir-

teenth century are the Falchion, the curved Sabre, the

Espee a the Cultellus, and the Anelace.

1'
estoc,
The Falchion (fauchon, Fr., from the Latin falx) is
of two kinds the first a broad blade, becoming wider
:

'

* De Bau?oio :
Descriptio Victoria '"
Gesta Ludov. IX. ap. Duchesne,
&c. apud Duchesne, t. v. t. v. p. 377.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 313

towards the point, the edge convex, the back concave

;

example from the Painted Chamber

as in this :

No. 82.

the other differing from itonly in having the back quite

straight. The latter is figured on Plate xxxi. of the
Painted Chamber ;
and of this form is the curious tenure
sword of the lordship of Sockburn, co. Durham, engraved
in the Archaeologia, vol. xv. Plate xxvi. See, in Blount's
" Antient
Tenures," an account of this weapon ;
of the
"monstrous Dragon, Worm, or flying Serpent, that de-
voured Men, Women, and Children," which fell at last
under its keen edge; and of the "tomb of the great
Ancestor of the Conyers, having carvings of the falchion,
and of a dog, and of the monstrous Worm or Serpent,
lying at the Knight's feet, of his own killing, of which
the History of the Family gives the above account."
The passage is too long for extract
1
.

1
Compare Surtees' Durham, where there is a rude cut of the effigy, vol. iii.

p. 151.
314 ANCIENT ARMOUR

The falchion is a weapon of very remote antiquity.

It appears among the paintings on the tomb at Thebes
of Barneses III., B.C. 1230. See Plate in. of Wilkinson's
"Ancient Egyptians" 1837). And it is found,
(ed.
almost identical in shape, in the' wall-paintings of the

Ajunta Caves, of the first century of the Christian era ;

of which a careful copy has been made for the Museum
of the East India House. Guiart often mentions it in

the Chronique Metrique, as in this passage :

" La ou les presses sont plus drues

Est le cliaple
k aux
espees nues,
Aux fauchons, aux coutiaus a pointes,
Si merveilleus que les plus cointes
N'ont ores soing de vanteries."

The curved Sabre is of very rare appearance. It

occurs among the pictures of the Painted Chamber,

Plate xxxv.
The Epee a F estoc (Stabbing Sword) is named in a
" Suffici-
judgment of the Parliament of Paris in 1268 :

enter inventum est quod dictus Boso dictum Ademarum

percussit cum Ense a estoc in dextro latero propria manu,
et de ipso ictu cecidit dictus Ademarus." It appears

also tobe the weapon which Eigord assigns to some of

" Habebant
the imperial troops at the battle of Bovines :

cultellos longos, graciles, triacumines, quolibet acumine

indifferenter secantes, a cuspide usque ad manubrium,
quibus utebantur pro gladiis."
The Cultellus, as we have seen 1

,
was a weapon par-
taking of the character of the sword and the dagger. It

clearly varied in size ; for Odo de Eossilion, in 1298,

names in his will "meum magnum cultellum et meam
k conflict.
Page 154.
i
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 315

parvam ensem." Being the chief arm of the coustillers,

it must have been of some considerable size and of this :

larger kind must also have been the weapon assigned, in

the " Outillement du villain," to the peasant, for the de-
fence of his home :

" Si le convient armer

For la terre garder,

Coterel e hauvet,
Macue e guibet,
Arc e lance enfumee," &c.

In other places, it appears as a mere secondary arm,

a knife or dagger ; as in the Statutes of Arms already

cited, where the various classes of proprietors are di-

rected to have
" cutel e or " e
espe, cheval," espe cutel,"
"
or espes, arcs, setes e cutel."
The particular construction of the Anelace, as well
as the derivation name, has hitherto eluded
of its

the most careful examination of antiquaries and glos-

sarists. Some have referred the name to the Latin or

Italian, annulus, or annello. Others to the Old- German,

" side-
Laz, from latus ; the weapon being therefore a
arm." Matthew Paris often uses the word, and tells us
" Lorica
that the arm was worn at the girdle : erat in-

iutus, gestans anelacium ad lumbare." "Without hoping

to settle this question, we may venture to point out that
a weapon of the dagger kind, carried at the belt, and

having a chain with a ring running loosely upon the grip,

to prevent its being lost in the melee, was certainly in
use during the middle-ages an example of which may
;

be seen in the effigy of William Wenemaer, at Ghent,

dated 1325 ; engraved in the Archaeological Journal, vol.
vii. p. 287. We may note also that the wheel-like form
316 ANCIENT ARMOUR

of the guard may have supplied the name ;

for Florio, in

the sixteenth century, defines "Annelle" to be "thin

plates of iron made like rings, called of our gunners

washers," &c. Guiart also mentions the anelace : under
the year 1298, he has :

" Aucuns d' entr' eiis testes desnuent

De hyaumes e de cervelieres,
E plantent alenaz es chieres
En pluseurs lieus jusques es manches."
In the manufacture of Swords at this period, Cologne
seems to have had the palm. The volume of Proverbs

already noticed gives the highest place to the "Espees

de Cologne." And Matthew Paris, under 1241 m , relating
how certain wicked German Jews, wishing to assist the
Tartars, sent them certain barrels, (filled, as they told
the Christians, with poisoned wine,) adds that, on the
toll-man suspiciously scrutinizing the contents, " all the
casks were found to be filled with Cologne swords and

daggers, without hilts, closely and compactly stowed

away. The Jews were, therefore, at once handed over
to the executioners, to be either consigned to perpetual

imprisonment, or to be slain with their own swords."

The Exercise of the Sword and Buckler (Eskirmye de
Bolcyler) was in vogue in this century, and schools were
established for teaching it. But disorders arising from
the practice, the schools were ordered to be closed. Thus
the "Statuta Civitatis London" of the 13 Edw. I. has:
" Primerement
pur ceo qe multz des mals com des mur-
dres robberyes e homycides ont este fetz ca en arrere deinz
la Citee de nuyt e de jour, e gentz batues e mal tretes e
autres diverses aventures de mal avenuz encontre sa pes

m
Page 502.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 317

(du roi), defendu est qe mil seit si hardi estre trove alaunt
ne batraunt parmy les ruwes de la Citee apres coeverfu
parsone a seint Martyn le grant, a espey ne a bokuyler
ne a autre arme pur mal fere ne dount mal suspecion
poet vienir, &c. . . .

" Easement
pur ceo qe fous qe sei delitent a mal fere
vount aprendre eskirmye de bokyler e de ceo plus sei
abaudissent de fere lour folyes, purveu est e defendu qe
nul ne tiegne eskole ne aprise de eskirmye de bokyler de
deinz la Citee de nuyt ne de jour, e si nul le faceo, eit

la prison de xl. jours."

Eepresentations of the Sword-and-buckler contest occur

in Eoy. MSS. 14, E. iii. and 20, D.
both engraved in
vi.,

Strutt's Sports. See also Hefner, Pt. ii. Plate vn. All

these, however, are minia-

tures of the fourteenth cen-

tury; though 14, E. iii. is

early in the period. From

these examples we learn that
the buckler was about a foot
and a half in diameter, had
a boss in the centre, and
was held at arm's length by
a bar crossing the hollow of
the umbo, exactly in the
manner of the Anglo-Saxon
shields described and figured
in a former page. (See wood-

cut, No. 20.)

Occasionally the figure
of a Sword was carved on
the tomb of the knight,
to indicate his calling, as in this incised slab from
318 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Brougham Church, Westmoreland, commemorating one of

the Brougham family. The example is further curious
from itsincluding also the round shield of the period ;
differing, as we see, from the buckler named above, in

having no boss. The sword is usually, on tombs of this

kind, accompanied by a Cross : sometimes it forms itself the

crosson the monument, as in the Gorforth memorial, en-
graved on page 84 of Mr. Boutell's work on Incised Slabs.
At Aycliffe, Durham, a tomb on which appears a cross,
is

having on one side a sword, on the other a hammer and

pincers. This group of emblems has been thought to
indicate a weapon-smith. The monument is figured in
the Archaeological Journal, vol. v. p. 257. Not the
sword only, but the spear, the axe, the dagger, and
other weapons, are found on the incised slabs of the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; many examples of
which may be seen in the works on these memorials by
the Kev. Mr. Cutts and the Kev. Mr. Boutell.
The Dagger by no means filled that prominent place
in the knightly equipment during this century which it

is found to occupy in the fourteenth; though, towards

the close of the period, it is seen to be coming into

vogue. worn by the knights represented in our

It is

engravings, Nos. 58 and 72 and the Ash Church effigy

;

(woodcut, No. 59) shews us the lace by which the dagger,

now destroyed, was fastened to the waist-belt. The figure
of De Montford (Stothard, PL xxxix.) has the dagger.
It appears also in the Shurland monument (Stothard,
PL XLI.), worn by the knight's attendant; and in this

example the guard of it is formed of two knobs, a

fashion occasionally found up to the sixteenth century.
In Durham Cathedral preserved a real dagger, which
is

is believed to have belonged to one of the retainers of

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 319

Bishop Anthony in 1283. It is entirely of iron, and the

blade, which is sixteen inches in length, is inscribed
"ANTON: EPS: DuNOLM. n "
Under the name of Misericordia, the dagger has an
mention in the Charter of Arras, in 1221 "
early Qui- :

cumque cultellum cum cuspide, vel curtam sphatulam,

vel misericordiam, vel aliqua anna multritoria porta-
verit," &c. Under 1302, GKriart speaks of it by the
same name :

"
Plusieurs pietons Francois ala,

Qui pour prisonniers n' ont pas cordes,

Mais coutiaux et misericordes,
Dont on doit servir en tiex festes."

And under 1303 :-

"
Fauchons trenchans, espees cleres,
Godendas, lances emoulues,
Coutiaux, misericordes nues."

This name of misericorde appears to have been given

because, in the last struggle of contending foes, the up-

lifted dagger compelled the discomfited fighter to cry
for mercy. In this view, the murderous misericorde
was by the middle-age poets assigned to "Pity," as an
emblem of her benevolence. Thus Jean de Meun in the
Eomance of the Eose :

"
Pitiez, qui a tous bien s' accorde,
Tenoit une Misericorde
Decourant de plors e de lermes."

The Short Axe is

very rarely given to the knightly
combatant by the artists of the thirteenth century. It
appears to have been resigned to the less dignified order
of soldiery. The form of the head exhibits three prin-

n
See Archoeologia, vol. xii. Plate LI.
320 ANCIENT ARMOUR

cipal varieties: the single blade, of which we have a

good example in Harl. MS. 4,751, fol. 8 (woodcut, No.
50) ; the double weapon, in which one side has a vertical
axe-blade and the other a pick (see Strutt's Dress and

Habits, PI. LXV.) ; and the double weapon, in which one

side has a horizontal blade and the other a pick (see
Stothard's Monuments, PI. xix.). Guiart, under 1264,
mentions the axe mingling in the strife of battle with
the mace and the sword :

" Le chaple commence aus espees,

Dont la a de maintes manieres.
Sus hyaumes e sus cervelieres
Prennent plommees a descendre,
E hachetes, pour tout porfendre."

And when, in the same year 1264, the Earl of Leicester

assembled his army on Earham Downs, in addition to
the ordinary military levy, every township was required
to send eight, six, or four footmen well armed with spears,

bows and arrows, swords, cross-bows, and hatchets. (New

Eymer, 444.)
From the collection of thirteenth-century Proverbs,

which has already supplied us with several curious par-

ticulars of this early time, we learn that the "Haches
de Dannemark" held the first place among the axes of
the period but whether this distinction
: accorded for is

the form or the manufacture of the weapon, is not

clear. Matthew Paris speaks of it under 1256 " Cum :

jaculis Danisque securibus et gesis hostiliter in-

sequuntur."
The " Danish Axe" is mentioned in several military
tenures of this century ;
but a more remote antiquity is

guisannes.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 321

usually assigned to the origin of the grant itself. The

weapon (more or less original) was always exhibited with
great pride in the family mansion. Dugdale tells us that

Plump ton in Warwickshire "was possest in Henry 3.

time by one Walter de Plompton, who held these lands

by a certain weapon called a Danish Axe : which, being

the very Charter whereby the said land was given unto
one of his Ancestors, hung up for a long time in the
Hall of the capitall messuage belonging thereto, in testi-

mony of the said tenure; untill that the said House

was seized
upon by Sir John Bracebrigge, Knight, Lord
of KINGSBURIE in Edward 3. time, and pulled to the

ground : After which it remained a great while in the

Hall of the mansion belonging to William de Plompton,
in HARDRESHULL (about two miles distant), being com-
P
monly reputed and called the Charter
O/PLOMTON ."
And in the 12th Edw. I. "Kobertus Hurding tenet
:

unam acram terrae et unum furnum in villa Castri de

Lanceveton (Launceston, co. Cornwall) nomine serjantiae
essendi in Castro de Lanceveton cum uno Capello ferreo
et una Hachet Denesh per XL. dies tempore guerrae ad
custum suum proprium, et post XL. dies, si Dominus
Castri velit ipsum tenere in eodem Castro, erit ad custus
ipsiusdominiV 7

The Mace is both named and pictured in evidences of

this century. Matthew Paris, describing the disasters
of a tournament near Hertford in 1241, adds: "Many
other knights and men-at-arms were also wounded and
seriously injured with maces (clavis)
at this same tourna-
ment, because the jealousy of many of those concerned

P
Dugdale's Warwickshire, p. 765. Plac. Cor. 12 Ed. I., apud Blount.
322 ANCIENT ARMOUR
r
had converted the sport into a battle ." This and simi-
lar mishaps led to the mace, with other weapons, being

interdicted at these pastimes; for in a "Statutum Ar-

morum ad Torniamenta" of this century, it is ordered by
"
the king qe mil Chivaler ne Esquier qe sert al Turney
ne porte espeie a point, ne cotel a point, ne bastoun, ne
3
mace, fors espee large pur turneer ." Pictured examples
of the mace occur in Eoy. MS. 20, D. i.,
ff. 12 and 69 ;

and on Plate xxxm. of the Painted Chamber. The striking

part is formed in the manner of a cogged wheel the top :

sometimes terminates in a knob; sometimes it is pro-

longed into a pike.
The Baton named in the above Statute was probably
no more than a stout cudgel. The form of the tourna-
ment baton of a later time is given in full detail in the
" Tournois du roi Bene."

The long-handled weapons of the infantry named in

this century are the Guisarme, the Godendac, the Croc,

the Faus, the Faussar, and the Pilete.
The Guisarme, or Pole-axe, has already been described,
It is named by Matthew Paris
" Gesta- :
(ante, p. 50).
bant autem gladios, bipennes, gaesa, sicas et anelacios."
It occurs also in the Statute of Winchester: "E que
ad meyns des chateus de XL. soudes, seyt juree as faus,

gysarmes, coteaux e autres menus armes." The Pole-

axe with a single vertical blade is seen in a miniature
of the thirteenth century, inserted into the Gospels of
Mac Durnan in the Lambeth Library (figured in West-
wood's Palseographia) ;
and it appears again in the Lives
of the Offas, Cott. MS., Nero, D. i.

r Statutes of the Realm, 230 circa 1290.

Page 503. j.,
:
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 323

The Godendac was the name given by the Flemings to

the Halbard. Guiart, describing the battle of Courtrai,

in 1302, has this very curious passage :

" A grans batons pesans ferres

Avec leur fer agu devant
Yont ceux de France recevant
Tiex baton qu' il portent en guerre
Ont nom Godendac en la terre.
c' est Son
Goden-dac, jour a dire,
Qui en Francois le veut decrire.
Cil baton sont long e traitis,
Pour ferir a deux mains faitis."

Should the axe-stroke fail, then the skilful halbardier

repairs his mishap with a prompt thrust of the piked

head :

"Et quand 1'on en faut au descendre,

Si cil qui fiert y veut entendre,
Et il en scache bien ouvrer,
Tantot peut son cop recovrer,
Et ferir sans
s' aller
moquant,
Du bout devant en estoquant
Son ennemi."

The halbard, consisting of an axe-blade

balanced by a
at the end of the staff, is
pick, and having a pike-head
figured on Plate xxxi. of the Painted
Chamber.
"
The Faus (falso
: from falx) appears to have been a
kind of spear with a broad, cut-and-thrust blade. It is
made synonymous with the spear in this passage of the
" Enses non
Synodus Nemausensis, in 1284 (de Clericis) :

lanceas sen falsones,"

deferant, nee cultellos acutos, nee
&c. But in the Statuta Eccles. Cadurcensis, in 1289,
"balistas et arcus,
it is distinguished from the spear:
alia anna non deferant."
lanceas, falsones, costalarios seu
In the Statute of Winchester, as we have seen, (ante,
Y2
324? ANCIENT ARMOUR

p. 211,) it was placed at the head of the humbler class

of weapons prescribed to the militia of small means.

The Faussar, a kindred word, was probably a kindred
weapon. Like the most likely presented some
falso, it

variety in the exemplars turned out from the village

weaponers' smithies. One kind was three-edged, and
had a second name, the Trialemellum. At Bovines,
" Ante oculos
ipsius regis occiditur Stephanus de Longo
1
Campo, in capite percussus longo, gracili Trialemello ,

quern Falsarium nominantV The faussar appears to

have been sometimes used as a missile thus, in the :

Chron. de Duguesclin (of the fourteenth century) we

are told that the combatants

" Grettent dars et

faussars, moult en vont ociant."

The Croc was probably the Bill. It is named by

Guiart among the weapons of the Eibauds in 1214 :

" Li uns
une pilete porte,
L' autre croc ou macue torte."

The fashion of the Bill of this time, a broad, cutting

blade, forming a beak near the top and terminating in

a pike, may be seen in Plate xxxi. of the Painted
Chamber.
The
Pilete (dimin. of Pilum) named in the above pas-

sage of Guiart, was a pike, the exact form of which, like

that of so many of the weapons of this period, has not
been ascertained. The " macue torte" is a knotted club.
The missile day were the javelin, the
weapons of this

long-bow, the cross-bow, the cord-sling and the staff-sling.

*
From lamina u
, : dimin. lamella. Albericus in Chron., ann. 1214.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 325

The Javelin is mentioned by Matthew Paris :

" cum
jaculis Danisque securibus et gesisV
The Long-bow has already been noticed in our exam-
ination of the troops of this century. Its form is seen in
our woodcuts, Nos. 47, 48, 49 and 50. The fashion of
the Quiver appears in the engraving from Eoy. MS. 20,
D. (No. 47). The feathering of the arrows is shewn
i.

in the same print ; the shaft and head in woodcut, No.

82, from the Painted Chamber. Besides the ordinary

arrows, shafts armed with phials of quick-lime were occa-

sionally discharged from the long-bow. Strutt, in his
H or da 7
has furnished an example of this missile, from
,

a MS. of Matthew Paris in Benet College, Cambridge

(copied in our woodcut, No. 51); and in the Addita-
menta to the printed History of Matthew Paris, page
1091, is given the letter of Sir Guy, a knight of the
household of the Viscount of Melun, in which, recount-

ing the capture of Damietta, he says: ""We discharged

fiery darts (spicula ignita) and stones from our sea man-
gonels, and we threw small bottles
lime (phialas
full of

plenas calce\ made to be shot from a bow, or small sticks

like arrows against the enemy. Our darts, therefore,
pierced the bodies of their pirates, while the stones
crushed them, and the lime, flying out of the broken

bottles, blinded them."

The Cross-bow, as we have seen, (ante, p. 201,) was
in general use throughout this century. It is figured in
our woodcuts, ISTos. 49 and 50. In both these examples
there is a provision for holding down the bow with the

foot, while the cord was drawn up to the notch. The

*
Ad aim. 1256. 7 Vol. i., Plate xxxi.
826 ANCIENT AKMOUR

bow might thus be bent by the hand : but there appears

also to have been, at this early date, some apparatus
similar to the moulinet of later days, by which a stouter
bow might be easily bent by mechanical appliance. Such
a bow was called an "arbaleste a tour," and the instru-
ment by which it was wound up was named "la clef."
No delineation of this little engine has yet been noticed

among the monuments of the time. Guiart has :

" Messire
Alphonse un jour ataignent,
z
Qui armez iert de son atour,
D' un quarrel d' arbaleste a tour."

And again :

"En haste vont les clefs serrant des arbalestes."

2 e Partie, vers 8,625.
.

Several further varieties of the Cross-bow are named

about this time: Balistse corneae; ad stapham*; ad
viceas
b
;
de torno vel de lena c
;
ad mmm pedem; lig-
neae ad duos pedes; de cornu ad duos pedes; a pec-
d
toribus; a pesarola ; and among the rest, a Double
Cross-bow discharging two quarrels: "Balista sine nuce,
^

quae duos projicit quarrellos." See Ducange and Ade-

lung, v. Balista.
The Quarrel (carreau\ as its name indicates, was an
arrow with a four-sided or pyramidal head. This dis-
tinctive form of the arbalest shaft is carefully kept in

view in the illumination from Add. MS. 15,268 (our

No. 49) where, while the archer plies his barbed arrow,
;

bent by " naturall strength" alone

*
e"toit. : see
The stirrup Cross-bow is seen in our Florio, v. Lena.
d
engraving. Pesarola is a balance, but the appli-
b
From the French, vis. cation of the word is not clear.
e
From the Italian ? an arbalest to be
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 327

the cross-bowman discharges his angular quarrel. The

feathering of the quarrel is seen very clearly in wood-
cut, No. 50 where the markings shew that feathers are
;

really intended, and not slices of wood, leather, or metal.

These last-named materials being found in later monu-
ments, it seems not unlikely that they may have been
used thus early; and we have the distinct evidence of

cetemporary writers that the larger quarrels discharged

from the engines called espringales were "empennes
6
d'airain ."
The Slings of this period have already been noticed
(page 204): the cord-sling is figured in our woodcut,
"No. 50, the staff-sling in No. 51.

The Military Flail appears in the following woodcut

from Strutt's Ifor da vol. i.,
Plate
xxxn. The original miniature
is in the MS. of Matthew Paris,
at Benet College, Cambridge,
which has already furnished us
with examples of the Staff-sling
and other weapons of this time.
The flail-man in our engraving
is engaged in the assault of a
castle : other assailants in the
same vessel are armed with bows
and Adelung cites the
slings.

following passage, in which the flail is mentioned under

the name of flaellum :
" Cum ducentis hominibus in

armis, electis et gleatis, et cum flaellisV

The Greek Fire, still
rejected among the nations of

e f
Guiart, aim. 1304. Fragment. Hist. Dalphiu., t. ii. p. 64.
328 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Western Europe, for the reasons assigned in a former page,

was in frequent use In 1250, the

among the Saracens.

Christians, advancing towards Damietta by water, were

their enemies.
" The Saracens in their
intercepted by
vessels met the Christians sailing down the river, where
a most fatal naval conflict ensued, the missiles of the
combatants flying like hail. At length, after an obstinate
battle, rendered more dreadful by the Greek fire hurled
on them by the Saracens, the Christians, being worn out
6 "
by grief and hunger, suffered a defeat ." The letter to
his respected lord, Eichard, earl of Cornwall," from

"John, his Chancellor," gives a similar account of this

terrible fight; from which one only of the Christians
" Alexander
escaped, Giffard, an Englishman of noble
" The
blood." Saracens, by throwing Greek fire on the
Christians, burnt many of their boats and killed the

people in them, thus obtaining the victory. The Chris-

h
tians were drowned, slain, and burnt ." The authors of
the treatise, Du feu gregeois. Captain Fave and M. Eei-
naud, remark that during the fifty-seven years of the
reign of French princes at Constantinople (taken in
1204), the secret of the Greek fire could not have re-
mained concealed from men who had made some advances
in the science of chymistry.
" Mais alors les prejuges
de F ignorance se joignaient aux idees religieuses et aux
sentimens chevaleresques, pour repousser Femploi d'un
art qui semblait rendre inutiles la force et le courage in-

dividuelsV
In the East, however, the employment of incendiary

weapons was constant, and the variety of them very

h
Paris, p. 685. Paris, p. 689 ; and compare page 1,092. '

Page 210.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUBOPE. 329

great. An
Arabic treatise of this century, published in
the work named above by MM. Eeinaud and Pave, gives
us the most curious information relating to them, and the
interest of the manuscript is heightened by its containing

drawings (somewhat rude, it is true) of the principal in-

struments and engines described. From this " Treatise
on the Art of Fighting," by Hassan Alrammah, we learn
that the Arabs of the thirteenth century employed their

incendiary compositions in four different ways: they

cast them by hand they fixed them to staves, with
;

which they attacked their enemies; they poured forth

the fire through tubes and they projected burning mix-
;

tures of various kinds by means of arrows, javelins, and

the missiles of the great engines resembling the tre-
buchets and mangonee of their Western neighbours.

Among these fire-weapons we have "Balles de verre;

Pots a feu ;
La Maison de feu ;
Massue de guerre ; Mas-
sue pour asperger; Lance de guerre; Lance a fleurs;
Lance avec massue ; La lance avec la fleche du Khatay ;
Fleches en roseau ;
Fleches du mangonneau Fleches de ;

la Chine ;
Marmite de 1' Irac Marmite de Mokhar-
;
.

ram; Yase de Helyledjeh; Cruche de Syrie (the last

four for the mangonel) L' ceuf qui se meut et qui brule
;

(Captain Fave takes this to be a projectile on the prin-

ciple of our rockets) ;

Dard du Khatay Des Coupes Des ; ;

Yolants; Des Lunes," &c.

The and pottery, discharged by hand
vessels of glass
or by machines, were so contrived that on striking the

object at which they were aimed, their contents spread

around, and the fire, already communicated by a fusee,
enveloped everything within its reach. A soldier on
whose head was broken a fire-mace, became suddenly
330 ANCIENT ARMOUK

soaked with a diabolical fluid, which covered him from

head to foot with flame ;
and* a flame of so terrible a na-
ture that it was believed
be absolutely inextinguish-
to

able. The receipt for making the Massue de Guerre is

given with great particularity: "Tu feras faire par le
verrier une massue, &c. Ensuite tu feras les melanges

usites, &c. Tu mettras le feu a la massue et tu la brise-

ras pour le service de ." One of the lances is
Dieu 1

furnished with a firework

" so that the spear shall burn

the enemy, after having wounded him with its point."

j
Another lance "brulera bien et s etendra a plus de mille
coudees." It will be remembered that the Arabic super-
lative is
" a thousand." What
commonly expressed by
we learn, therefore, is that this fire-missile was con-
trived to wound at a distance. In applying the Massue
a asperger, you are to break it against the person of
your antagonist, "but keep out of the current of the
wind, lest the sparks return upon and burn you." The
machines for casting forth the fire-pots and vases of

larger dimension bear so close a resemblance to the tre-

buchets and mangonas in use by the Christian nations,
that Captain Fave is inclined to think that the latter
warriors copied their engines from those of the Arabs

during the Crusades (p. 49).

On the second plate of the treatise are given examples
of two of the Arabian mangonels. One is formed of a
sling and weighted lever, like the instruments represented
in Eoy. MS. 16, G. vi., engraved in Shaw's "Dresses and
Decorations," and on the ivory casket figured in the
fourth volume of the Journal of the Archaeological Asso-

l
Page 38.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 331

elation. The other only in having, in lieu of a

differs

weight, a number of cords hanging from the end of the

lever ; from which it would appear that the lever was in
this case moved by men
acting together by means of the
cords. Captain Fave remarks that the expressions, La
fleche de la Chine, La fleur de la Chine, in shewing us

that the Chinese practised the fabrication of incendiary

agents and contributed these names to the Arabs at so

early a period, may permit us to suppose that this mode
of warfare received its chief development from them, and
even that to them may be ascribed
invention (p. 44).
its

The various STANDARDS and FLAGS found in the last

period are continued throughout the present. But the

advancement of the science of heraldry gave to the de-
vices of this age a permanence which has in many cases
subsisted to the present day. The Dragon Standard was
still in use in England. At the battle of
Lewes, in 1264,
between the king and his barons, " the king, being in-
formed of the approach of his enemies, soon set himself
in motion with his army, and went forward to meet them
with unfurled banners, preceded by the royal ensign,
1
which was called the Dragon" ." In the same battle, on
the barons' side, we find the ancient Carrocium. When
the revolted nobles, with De Montford at their head,
" had reached a
place scarcely two miles distant from the
town of Lewes, Simon with his friends ascended an emi-
nence and placed his Car thereon, in the midst of the

baggage and sumpter horses. There he displayed his

Standard, fastening it
securely to the car, and surrounded

m M. Westminster,
Paris, p. 853. Compare Chron. of Dunstable, p. 366, and
p. 387.
332 ANCIENT ARMOUR

it with a great number of his soldiers"." The Milanese

still held their Carrocio in the utmost veneration. When
the Emperor Frederic, in 1236, crossed the Alps to
attack them, "the citizens sallied forth from the city in

great strength, to the number of about fifty thousand

armed men, and proceeded with their Standard, which
they Carruca, or Carrochium, to meet the emperor,
call

sending word that they were ready to fight him ." In

1237 the Milanese again placed their defiant Carrocium
in front of the imperial host. They went forth "with
an army of about sixty thousand men, and fixed their
Carrocium where their ranks seemed to be strongest.
At sight of this, the emperor summoned his counsel-
" Be-
lors, and, animating them by warlike words, said :

hold how these insolent Milanese, our enemies, dare

to appear against us, and presume to provoke me, their
lord, to battleenemies as they are to the truth and to
;

Holy Church, and borne down by the weight of their

sins. Cross the river, unfurl my Banner, my victorious

Eagle and you, my knights, draw your formidable

!

swords, which you have so often steeped in the blood of

your enemies, and inflict your vengeance on these mice,
which have dared to creep out of their holes, to cope

with the glittering spears of the Eoman Emperor p ."

From the letter of the emperor himself, addressed to
"
Richard, earl of Cornwall, his beloved brother-in-law,"
we learn that the Standard- Car was drawn by horses :

"
quod apud Crucem-Novam (Nnova Croce) in equorum
celeritate prsemiserant." And further on he writes:
"We now directed our attention to the attack and cap-

n
Paris, p. 853, ad an. 1264 Ibid., p. 366.
P
Ibid., p. 375.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 333

ture of this standard, and we saw that some of our troops,

having forced their way over the top of the trenches, had
penetrated almost to the mast of the Carrocium. Night,
however, coming on, we desisted from the attack till the

following morning ; lying down to rest with our swords

drawn, and without taking off our iron hauberks. When
day broke, however, we found the Carrocium deserted, left
amidst a crowd of vile wagons, entirely undefended and

abandoned, and from the top of the staff where the Cross
had been, the Cross was now severed :
but, being found
too heavy for the fugitives to carry off in safety, they had
q
left it half- way ."

The Car with Dragon and Eagle, forming the

its

standard of the Emperor Otho at Bovines, has already

been noticed, (page 164). The Oriflamme of the French
monarchs maintains its illustrious position. Captured
by the Mahometans, with Saint Louis and his equipage,
it still miraculously
subsists; and when destroyed by
the Flemings at the battle of Mons-en-Puelle, it is dis-
covered that the banner which has been torn to pieces

is,
after all, only a counterfeit oriflamme, the real one

being still under the guardianship of the Abbot of

intact

St. Denis. Thus Guillaume Guiart :

" Aussi li Sire de Chevreuse

Porta 1' Oriflamme vermeille,
Par droite semblance pareille
A cele s'elevoit esgarde
Que

Et
*****
1'
1' Abbe de

Oriflamme contrefaite
Saint Denis garde.

Chai a terre, et la saisirent

Flamans, qui apres s' enfuirent."
Chron. Met., ann. 1304.

'
Paris, p. 385.
 334 ANCIENT ARMOUR

The "Boyal Standard" of the French monarchs is

described as of blue, adorned with fleurs-de-lis of
gold.
That of Philip Augustus at Bovines is thus noticed
by
Guiart :

"
Galon de Montigni porta,
Ou la Chronique faux m' enseigne,
De fin azur luisant Enseigne
A fleurs de lys d' or aornee,
Pres du roi fut cette journee
A 1'endroit du riche Estendart."
An ordinance of Philip IY. in 1306, quoted by Pere
Daniel (Mil. Fran. j. 520), under the heading, "L'or-
donnance du Eoy quant il va en Armez," directs That :

the chief Ecuyer Tranchant shall have charge of the

Eoyal Standard : that the chief Chamberlain shall carry

the Banner of the king: and that the chief Yarlet
Tranchant shall follow close behind the king, bearing
his Pennon; and his duty is to accompany the king
wherever he may go, in order that all may know where
the monarch is stationed.
The knightly Banner of this time may be seen in
Eoy. MS. 20, D. i. in the Lives of the Offas (Cott.
;

MS., Nero, D. i.); and in many of the plates of the

Painted Chamber. In all these examples it is quadran-

gular, but not square: its height is double its breadth.

The effigy at Minster, Isle of
Sheppey, (Stothard, PI.
XLI.) gives us in sculpture a large specimen of the

banner, and shews very distinctly how it was fastened

to the staff by tasselled cords.

The office of Bannerer of the City of London was filled

in the thirteenth century by the family of Fitz Walter,

who held the castlery of Baynard's Castle in fee for the

performance of this duty. The services and privileges

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 335

attached to the office are laid down in a curious docu-

ment printed in Blount's "Antient Tenures," from a
MS. preserved by Dugdale. They are recorded under
two heads the rights in time of war, and the rights in
:

time of peace. We
give the first in full a mere note :

will suffice for the other, which are privileges rather of

a civil than a military character :

" These are the

rights which Eobert Fitz "Wauter,
Castellan of London, Lord of Wodeham, has in the city
of London : That is to say, the said Eobert and his heirs

ought to be, and are, Chief Bannerers of London, by fee,

for the said Castlery, that his ancestors and he have of
Castle Baynard in the said City. In time of War the
said Robert and his heirs are to serve the city in manner

following. The said Eobert is to come on his barded

horse (sus son Destrier covert), he the twentieth man-at-

arms, all with horses housed with cloth or iron (coverts

de teyle ou de fer\ as far as the great gate of the minster
of St. Paul, with the Banner of his arms displayed before
him. And when he is come to the great gate of the
aforesaid minster, mounted and equipped as aforesaid,

then ought the Mayor of London, with his Sheriffs and

Aldermen (ove touz ses Viscountz et ses
Audermans)^
armed in their arms, to come out of the minster of St.

Paul as far as the said gate, with his Banner in his

hand all being on foot. And the Banner shall be red,
;

having an image of St. Paul in gold, the feet, hands and

head of silver, with a silver Sword in the hand of the said
image. And as soon as the said Eobert shall see the

Mayor and his Sheriffs and his Aldermen come on foot

out of the said minster, bearing this Banner, then the

said Eobert, or his Heirs, who owe this service to the
356 ANCIENT ARMOUR

said City, shall dismount from his horse, and shall salute

the Mayor companion and peer, and shall say to

as his
him Sir Mayor, I am come hither to fulfil the service
(
:

which I owe to the city.' Then the Mayor, Sheriffs,

and Aldermen shall say :
'
"We deliver to you, as the

Bannerer by fee of this City, this Banner, to bear and

govern to the honour and profit of our City, to the best
of your power.' Then the said Eobert or his Heirs
shall receive the Banner. Then the Mayor of the said
City and his Sheriffs shall follow him to the gate, and

shall deliver to the said Eobert a horse of the value of

twenty pounds And the horse shall have a saddle of
1
".

the arms of the said Eobert 8 and shall have a housing ,

of Cendal silk of the same arms ;

and they shall take

twenty pounds sterling, and shall deliver them to the

Chamberlain of the said Eobert, for his expenses this day.
And the said Eobert shall mount the horse which the
saidMayor has given to him, holding the Banner in his
hand. And as soon as he is mounted, he shall require
the Mayor to cause to be elected a Marshal out of the
troops of the City. And as soon as the Marshal is

elected, the said Eobert shall direct the Mayor and

Citizens to have the Tocsin of the said city rung (que
facent soner le Sein communal de la dicte Citee) ; and all

r
Evidently a mistake of the tran- the "saddle of the arms of the said
scriber. Such a sum of thirteenth cen- Robert :" the arms being repeated on
tury money would make about 300 of the shield and housing : the knight is
modern currency. armed with the sword. This seal was
s
The silver matrix of the seal of this made between 1298 and 1304, as it con-

baron is still in existence, and was ex- tains also a shield of the arms of Ferrers ;
hibited at a meeting of the Royal So- Robert Fitz Walter having married a
ciety of Antiquaries hi 1777, as recorded lady of that house in 1298 : she dying
in the fifth volume of the Archaologia. in 1304, the baron married into another
Plate xvn. of that volume gives us a family,
representation of the seal. It exhibits
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 337

the commonalty shall go with the Banner of St. Paul,

which the said Eobert shall carry, as far as Aldgate.
Beyond that, the Banner shall be borne by one approved
of the said Eobert and the Mayor. If so be (si mint

soit) they have to go forth out of the city, then ought

the said Eobert to elect two of the most discreet persons
from each ward of the city, to provide for the safe keep-
ing of the city during their absence. And this council
shall be held at the Priory of the Trinity by Aldgate.

And for every town or castle that the host of London

shall besiege, the said Eobert shall receive from the com-
monalty of London a hundred shillings for his pains, and
no more, though the siege should last for a year. These
are the rights that the said Eobert shall have in London
in time of War."
The rights of the Chief Bannerer in time of peace were
the possession of one of those jurisdictions called a Soke,
the power of imprisoning and punishing certain offenders
within his district, the privilege of taking part in every
" Great Council" held
by the Mayor, and some others of
a similar kind. And
the culprit within his jurisdic-
if

tion has deserved death for treason, " then shall he be

tied to the post which is in the Thames at the Wood
Wharf, where boats are fastened, there to remain for two
floods and two ebbs of the tide. And if he be con-
demned pur commun larcin, then is he to be taken to the
Elms*, and there undergo his punishment like other com-
mon thieves."
Not less in honour than was the gold-and-silver Ban-

" Furcse facts?

The Elms apud Ulmellos com. Mid-
1
in Smithfield ; an ancient
place of execution. A Close Roll of this dlesex." Strype, b. in. p. 238.
century (4 Hen. III.) mentions the

Z
338 ANCIENT ARMOUR

ner of Saint Paul in the south, was the Banner of Saint

John of Beverley in the north of England. It accompanied
the heroic Edward the First in his wars in Scotland;

and, besides the military bannerer, appears to have had

a clerical custodian as we learn from this curious docu-
:

ment preserved in the Tower :

"Rex dilecto et fideli suo, Johanni de Warenna, Comiti Sun*',

custodi suo regni et terrse Scotise, salutem.
" Cum
nos, ob reverentiam Sancti Johannis de Beverlaco, gloriosi
confessoris Christi, concesserimus dilecto clerico nostro Gileberto de

Giymesby, qui Vexillum ejusdem Sancti ad nos usque partes Scotiae,

detulit, et ibidem de prsecepto nostro cum Vexillo illo, durante guerra

nostra Scotise, moram fecit, quandam ecclesiain, viginti marcarum vel
librarum valorem annuum attingentem, ad nostram donationem spec-
tantem, et in regno Scotise proximo vacaturam.
" Yobis mandamus quod praefato Grileberto, de hujusmodi ecclesia,
in prsedicto regno Scotise, provideri faciatis, quamprimum ad id optu-
lerit se facultas.
" Teste die Octobris."
Eege, apud Kyrkham xiij. (1296.)

The triangular Pennon occurs in many of the groups

of the Painted Chamber. It is not always heraldically

charged ;
but this may have arisen from the partial de-

cay of the colours.

The Lance-flag, of one, of two, or of three points, may
be seen in our woodcuts, Nos. 55, 62 and 80.
The Horns and Trumpets used in battle are not fre-

quently represented in the pictures of the time; but

good examples occur in Eoy. MS. 20, D. i., and on Plate

xxxvi. of the Painted Chamber. The trumpets are of
two kinds, straight and slightly curved ; and are figured
as of four or five feet long. The straight trumpet ap-
pears on folio 222. of Eoy. MS. 20, D. i. ; and is borne
as a heraldic charge on the shield of Sir Eoger de
n Pat. 24 Ed. I. in Turr. Lond. New Rymer, vol. i. 848.
p.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 339

Trumpington (woodcut, "No. 73). The long, curved

V0
trumpet occurs on folio 21 of Eoy. MS. 20, D. i.
.

Both kinds are pictured in Plate xxxvi. of the Painted

Chamber. The smaller semicircular Horn is drawn on
folio 70 of 20, D. i.

GREAT SEAL OF KINO EDWAhD THE FIRST

No. 85.

From the collection of medieval "Proverbes" already

cited, we learn that Spain was still the favourite mart for
the knightly CHARGER. Denmark and
Brittany had also
340 ANCIENT ARMOUR

a celebrity for their breeds of horses of a different cha-

racter. The fiat of popular approval is given to the
" Dextriers de Castille.

Palefrois Danois.
Eoussins de Bretagne."

Such was the noble nature of the high-bred dextrarius

that, when two knights had been dismounted and were

continuing the fight on foot, their horses, left to

them-

selves, instantly commenced a conflict of their own of the

most gallant and desperate character. A representation
of a double battle of this kind is given on folio 42 of
" De natura
Eoy. MS. 12, F. xiii., a treatise Pecudum,
Volucrum," $c. The form o'f the Saddle of this time,
with high pommel and cantle, may be seen in the
its

Eoyal seals engraved on Plates 52, 79, 81 and 85 and ;

again in the figure numbered 58. It was sometimes

heraldically decorated. In the purchases for the Wind-

7
sor Tournament ,
in 1278, we have :

" D
Felis Le Seler. viij. sell' de arm Angt. p'c. Lxiiij. ti. P'is.
"D Eodem. iiij. selle brond' de filo auri et argent tract videlicet
una de arm Rob'ti Tibetot una de arm Jofiis de Neele. j. de arm
Imb'ti G-uidonis et una de arm Comitis Cornub' p'c y. viij. ti.
" D Eodem. sella brond' eodem modo de arm Joiis de Grely. o
j.

scalop argent' p'c. xxxviij. ti." &c.

On
the seal of Alexander II. of Scotland, 121449,
the king's saddle is ensigned with a lion rampant (Cotton

Charter, xix. 2). f

And
the seal of Eobert Fitz- Walter,

1299, presents an analogous example (Plate xvn. of

vol. v. of the Archceologia). The Stirrup of the period is

v
Archceologia, vol. xvii. p. 306.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 341

shewn by numerous examples to have been triangular.

See woodcuts, No. 47, 48 and 56. The Peytrel or breast-

plate was sometimes of plain fashion, as in the first seal

of Henry III. (woodcut, No. 79) sometimes it had the :

pendent ornaments of the preceding period, as in the

example on Plate xxxvu. of the Painted Chamber, where
the pattern is a string of golden trefoils. From the
Windsor Koll quoted above we find that the poitrail was
of leather, and that this leather was occasionally gilt :

" De Stephano de Perone xi. par. strep et xi. pectoral' deaurat p'c.
ft.
xxij.
"De eodem. iiij fren cu pector et strepis de corea. p'c. vi. li.

"De eodem. ij. fren ij. pector et ij. strep deauf. p'c. iiij.
li."

The Eridle presents two kinds of bits : one has the

cheeks joined by a bar from their lower end, as in wood-
cut, No. 80 the other has no such cross-bar (see fol. 27 of
;

Harl. MS. 3,244). The last quotation from the Windsor

Eoll shews us that the bridles were sometimes gilt. The
group from the Painted Chamber on our woodcut, No. 82,
offers a curious arrangement of the brow-band. The
rounds in the original are gold-colour.
The Caparison of the knightly steed appears to have
been of five kinds. 1. The horse has a " couverture" of
chain-mail only. 2. The couverture is of quilted work.
3. The housing is of a light, fluttery material, probably

covering an armour of chain-mail. 4. A light housing,

heraldically decorated, which seems to have no armour
beneath. 5. The horse has no furniture beyond the
ordinary war-saddle, peytrel and bridle.
Of the mailed dextrier we have already had some
notice in the preceding century (see page 169). The
example here given is from the Painted Chamber.
342 ANCIENT ARMOUR

No. 86.

The trapper of chain-mail occurs on two of the plates of

that work those numbered 31 and 37.
: A fragment of
a similar defence is seen on the Shurland monument at

Minster (Stothard, PI. XLI.). But representations of this

kind of armament are of the greatest rarity. It is, how-
ever, often mentioned by the writers of the time ; though,
perhaps, not without some exaggeration of the numbers of
mail-clad steeds gathered in the host. At the battle of
Nuova Croce in 1237, between the imperialists and the
Milanese, Matthew Paris tells us that: "A credible
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 343

Italian asserted that Milan with its dependencies raised an

army of six thousand men-at-arms with iron-clad horses V
The ChroniconColmariense, under the year 12 9 8, describing
the force of "Australes, qui armis ferreis
utebantur,"
the duke of " Habebant
brought against Austria, says :

et multos qui habebant dextrarios, id est,

equos magnos.
Hi equi cooperti fuerunt coopertoriis ferreis, id est, veste
ex circulis ferreis contexta." An ordinance of Philip
the Fair in 1303 provides that every holder of an estate
of 500 livres rental, shall furnish for defence of the realm
" un
gentilhomme bien arme et monte a cheval de cin-
quante livres tournois et convert de couvertures de fer
ou de couverture pourpointeV The particular use of the
barding of steel or pourpointerie was to defend the horses
" Practice
against the missiles of the enemy. Sutcliffe's

of Arms," written in the sixteenth century, when the

musquet was rapidly supplanting the long-bow, has :

" Use of late times hath

brought in divers sorts of Horse-
men, which, according to their armes and furniture, have
divers names. Some Horse are barded others without ;

bardes. The French Men-of-armes, in times past, used

barded Horses, for feare of our Arrowes. Nowe, since
Archerie is not so much reckoned of, and Bardes are but
a weak defence against Shotte, Lanciers, leaving their

bardes, are armed much like to the Albanian Stradiots."

The pourpointed housing is named in the ordinance of

Philip IY. quoted above, and it may probably be im-

" cheval convert."
plied in most cases where we read of a

Eigord, under 1214, (battle of Bovines,) describes the

approach of the Imperialists on their barded horses :

w " Cum
Page 385. equis ferro coopertis."
x 383.
Coll. des Ordonnauees, j.
344 ANCIENT ARMOUR
" Dixit
quod viderat equos militum coopertos, quod . . .

erat evidentissimum pugn.se signum." In a roll of ex-

" Pour les
penses, of 1294, given by Du Cange
y
,

gages de Monsieur Bertran Massole, retenu aux gages

" Et
accoustumez pour lui et deux Ecuyers," we read :

estoit luy et autre achevaux couverts, et un autre sans

cheval couvert :" and again: "Pour onze Ecuyers a
chevaux couverts, a chacun vii. sols vi. deniers par jour,
et pour deux qui n'ont point chevaux couverts, chacun v.

sols."

In England, the armed horse came into use between

the years 1285 and 1298; for, while the Statute of
Winchester in 1285 makes no mention of any defence
for the steed, the Statute of 27 Edw. I. in every case

requires such an armament :

" Le Bey ad ordene qe sire Thomas de Purnivall voit en les contees

de Notingham et de Derb', de eslire, trier, ordener et asseer gentz
d' armes en meismes les contez, aussi bien a chival come a pie, de

touiz ceus qui sont de age d' entre vint anns e seissaunte ensi qe :

cbescun qe eyt xxx. liverees de terre, seit mis a un chival covert : e

de seissaunte liverees, a deux chivaux covertz : e se vers mount de
cliescune xxx. liveree de terre, a un chival covert. E s'il eit plus
avant qe xxx. liveree de terre e ne mie seisaunte, qe en ceo qe il avera
entre les xxx. livereez, seit joint e mis a un autre qe serra de meisme
la condicion.
" E de ceus
qui averont meins de trente liveree de terre en aval
jusqes a seisaunte soudes, e de ceus qe ont seisaunte soudees, e de
seisaunte soudees en amount, soient enjoingnz e mis as autres qe
serront de 'meisme 1' estat, de si
qe il seient a xxx. liverees, e adunkes
soient assis a un chival covert: ensi qe cliescune trente liveree de

terre, aussi de greindres come de meindres, face un chival covert.

"E face le dit sire Thomas mettre en roulle les nouns de touz
ceaus qi serront assis as chivaux covertz, e le noumbre des chivaux

Gloss, v. Equi cooperti.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 345

par eus severeaument de ehescun wapentakel, e aussi les nouns de

gent a pe par eus.
" E ausitost come il avera ce fet, distinctement e apertement de ce
certifie le Key.
"Don' a Noef Chastel sur Tyne, le xxv. jour de Novembre ."
2

The housing of a lighter material seems to be presented

to us in the engravings, Nos. 47, 72 and 80. The folds
of the drapery in these examples have in no degree the
character of a stiff quilted garment. The last of the
three miniatures (from the Lives of the Offas) is further
curious from its exhibiting in the same group the horse
with and without housing. The caparisoned steed in
its

front is that of King Offa the First, who leads his troops
to the defeat of the Scots. very early example of theA
trapper found in the seal of Saer de Quinci, earl of
is

Winchester, 1210 19 engraved in Laing's Scottish

:

Seals, Plate xi. In

monument, too, the housing is
this

armoried ; which seems to shew that the heraldic and the

plain housing were introduced simultaneously. Neither
of them was at this early time a necessary concomitant
of knightly dignity ; for we find no English royal seal

exhibiting the caparisoned steed till the time of Edward I.

(See woodcut, No. 85.) Another early instance of the
armorial trapper is afforded by the seal of Hugo de Vere,
earl of Oxford, 1221 63 a ; and in this, as in other ex-
amples, it will be remarked that, while the couverture
of the horse is decorated with heraldic devices, the sur-
coat of the knight is altogether plain. The seal here

given, of Eoger de Quinci, earl of Winchester from 1219

to 1264, has the same arrangement.

z
Pat. 27 Edw. I., m. 40; in Turr. Lond. New Ryraer, vol. i.
p. 901.
* in Archseol. Journ., vol. ix. p. 27.
Engraved
346 ANCIENT ARMOUR [PLATE LXXXVII.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUKOPE. 347

Other examples of the armoried housing will be found

in the Lives of the Offas, the Painted Chamber, in the
seal of Patrick, earl of March, 1292 (Laing, p. 54), in
the monument of Edmund Crouchback, 1296, (Stothard,
PL and in our engravings, Nos. 47 and 85.
XLIII.)
Towards the end of the thirteenth century came in the
fashion of ornamenting the head of the horse with a Fan
Crest, similar to that fixed on the helm of the knight.
This fan crest for the horse is a decoration of very high
antiquity : it appears among the Assyrian sculptures, and
again among the Lycian marbles in the British Museum.
See the engravings at page 159 and page 285 of Mr.Vaux's
able work on our national collection. The seal of Patrick

Dunbar, March, 1292, affords a good example of

earl of

knight and steed decorated with the fan crest it is :

figured in Laing's Ancient Scottish Seals, page 54. In

the provision for the Windsor Tournament in 1278, crests
are furnished for every knight and every horse b :

"It p qualibet galea J

i. cresta ) ^
. Sm. LXXVJ Crest."
.

It
p quolibet equoj. cresta )
They were in this case made of parchment, and fastened
" chastones"
by means of nails or rivets and :

"It p qualibet cresta j. pell' parcamen rud'.

It p qualibet cresta j. par chaston et j clauon."

The clavones are again mentioned in the Wardrobe Ac-

" factura diversorum
counts of King Edward I. in 1300 :

armorum, vexillorum, et penocellorum, pro Domino Ed-

wardo filio Eegis et Johanne de Lancastria, jamberis,
poleyns, platis, uno capello ferri, una Cresta cum clavis

argenti pro eodem capello," &c. The chasto (Fr. chdtori)

was a kind of socket or cavity, but the particular arrange-
ment of it in fixing the crest has not been ascertained.
b c
Archaol., vol. xvii. p. 305. Published by Roy. Soc. of Antiquaries.
348 ANCIENT ARMOUR

About the same time we first hear of a defence for the

horse of the nature of the later chanfrein. The same
Windsor Koll of 1278 gives us the earliest notice of
these "copita" of leather, made after the fashion (de
of horses' heads :

" D Milon le Cuireur. xxxviij. copita cor de similitud' capit equog

p'c pec ij.
s."

They appear again in 1301, under the name of testarce

(or tester ce) in the Indenture of Delivery of the Castle of

.Montgomery to William de Leyburn (Cott. MS. Yitell.

C. x. fol. 154)
" Item liberavit eidem
iij. par cooperto-
:

rum ferri et ij.

Testaras et v. loricas cum capite et v.
sine capite," &c.
The thirteenth century appears to have retained all the
ENGINES for the approach and attack of towns that were
in use during the preceding age. In this century we
first obtain pictorial evidence of the form and principle

of the mangona or trebuchet of the middle-ages, and from

this valuable testimony we learn that the motive power
of torsion employed during the classic period no longer is

in favour ;
but instead, we have a machine from which,
by means of a counterpoised beam, a large stone is cast

forth from a sling fixed at one end of the beam. We

have already (page 330) referred to the drawings of
these instruments in an Arabic manuscript of this cen-

tury, used by Captain Tave and M. Eeinaud in their

work, Du Other early representa-

feu gregeois, 8$c.

tions occur in Eoy. MS. 16, G. vi., copied in Shaw's

" Dresses and Decorations
;" in the ivory carving figured
in the fourth volume of the Journal of the Archaeological
Association, and in the Etudes sur VArtillerie of the Em-
peror of the French, Vol. ii. Plate in. In the work of
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 349

d
Gilles Colonne written for his pupil, Philip the Fair of
,

France, we have a distinct account of four varieties of the

" Of he " there are four
trebuchet :
pierriers," says, kinds,
and in all these machines there is a beam which is raised

and lowered by means of a counterpoise, a sling being

attached to the end of the beam to discharge the stone.
Sometimes the counterpoise is not sufficient, and then

they attach ropes to it,

in order to move the beam. The
counterpoise may either be fixed or moveable, or both at

once. In the fixed counterpoise, a box is fastened to the

end of the beam, and filled with stones or sand, or any
heavy body. These machines, anciently called trabutium,
cast their missiles with most exactness, because the weight

acts in a uniform manner. Their aim is so sure that one

may, so to say, hit a needle. If the gyn carries too far,

it must be drawn back or loaded with a heavier stone :

if the contrary, then it must be advanced or a smaller

stone supplied. For without attention to the weight of
the stone, one cannot hope to reach the given mark.
" Others of these machines have a moveable counter-

poise attached to the beam, turning upon an axis. This

variety was by the Eomans named li/a. The third

kind, which is called tripantum, has two weights: one
fixed to the beam and the other moveable around it :

by this means, throws with more exactness than the

it

biffa, and to
a greater distance than the trebuchet. The
fourth sort, in lieu of weights fixed to the beam, has a
number of ropes; and is discharged by means of men
pulling simultaneously at the cords. This last kind does
not cast such large stones as the others, but it has the

advantage that it may be more rapidly loaded and dis-

d "De regimine principum." The author died in 1316.

350 ANCIENT ARMOUR

charged than they. In using the perriers by night, it is

necessary to attach a lighted body to the projectile by :

this means, one may discover the force of the machine,

and regulate the weight of the stone accordingly V
The trebuchet arranged with cords
represented in is

the treatise Du feu gregeois noticed above, and in the

Etudes sur VArtillerie, vol. ii. PL in. Those familiar
with the sights of the Thames will not fail to be struck
with the curious resemblance between this ancient engine
of warfare and the apparatus by which a gang of colliers
raise the cargo from the hold of their ships.
Matthew Paris mentions the plying by day and by
night of the terrible trebuchet. Under 1246, he gives
us the letter of Master Walter de Ocra, a clerk of
the Emperor, to the king of England, recounting the
events of the Italian campaign " About eight days be-
:

fore the end of last July, my Lord laid

siege to the
Castle of Capaccio, which were (certain knights)
in
traitors to him, and who had attempted his
life, with a
hundred and fifty others, including knights, cross-bow-
men, and other friends of theirs ;
all of whom my said

Lord, by uninterrupted discharges of missiles, day and

night, from seven well-ordered Trebuchets, and by vigor-
ous and unceasing assaults, also made
night and day, re-
duced to such a helpless state that they could not assist
one another V The castle was finally taken and de-
stroyed, the garrison punished by loss of eye-sight and
other mutilations ; and the six leaders who had
attempted
the life of the Emperor, having partaken the
punishment
e
Lib. iii. pars iii. The Album of trebucet." See Revue Archeologique,
Villard de Honnecourt (of the thirteenth vol. vi. p. 76.

century) contains also directions for con- f

Matthew Paris, page 624.
structing the "fort engieng con apiele
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 351

of their comrades, were

"
by the imperial order sent to
allthe kings and princes throughout the various countries
of the world, with the impression of the papal bull, which
was found there, stamped on their foreheads, to give
public notice of their treachery."
The trebuchets were sometimes distinguished by par-
ticular names, a fancy already begun in the "Mate-

Griffon" of Coeur-de-Lion's war-tower, and afterwards

largely indulged in the great bombards of the fifteenth

and succeeding In 1303, when the Bernese
centuries.

besieged Wimmis, they had two trebuchets, one of which

was named La fille de bois, the other L'Ane s .

In 1850, under the direction of the present Emperor

of the French, a trebuchet of large dimensions was con-
structed after the ancient monuments, and set up at the

Ecole d' Artillerie at Yincennes. A minute account of its

formation and the experiments made with it, has been

given in the Eeport to tie Minister of War by Capt*

Fave this report is printed in the fitudes sur V Artillerie,
:

vol. ii.
page 38.
The projectiles thrown from the ancient trebuchets
were rounded stones, barrels of Greek fire or other in-

cendiary compositions, and occasionally the putrid bodies

of animals, when the siege was obstinately prolonged, or
the combatants were greatly exasperated. The rounded
stones are particularly mentioned by Guiart :

" Gietent
mangonniaus et perrieres :

La grosse pierre areondie

Demainne a 1'aler grant bondie."
CJiron. Metr., Par. i. vers 3,296.

The English seem to have been somewhat behindhand

s Chron. de Justinger : cited by Col. Dufour in his Memoire swr I'Artillerie des

Anciens, p. 89.
352 ANCIENT ARMOUR

in the construction of their perriers, for Matthew Paris

tells us that in 1253 the Gascons hurled stones and darts
of such wonderful size on the army of the king, that

many of them were carried into England, to be exhibited

as curiosities 11
.

The mangonel was used also in sea-fights. In the

Additamenta to the Historia Major of Matthew Paris, we
have an account of the taking of Damietta, in which oc-

curs this passage: "Et lapides de mangonellis navalibus,

qui sic parabantur ut quinque vel sex lapides simul longo
jacerentV It does not seem, however, (as it has been
suggested,) that we have
here the description of an en-

gine which threw five or six stones at once we must :

rather understand that five or six mangonels were so

managed as to shoot in volleys.

Another variety of the trebuchet was the Biblia or

Bible ; but its distinctive character has not been ascer-
tained. It is mentioned in '1238: "adducens secum
Bibliam, Petrariam et caetera bellica instrumental" And
in the Roman de Claris :
" Li rois fait ses
engins drecier
Et vers les haus murs charroier ;

Bibles et Mangoniaux geter,

Et les Chats aux fossez mener,
Les Berfrois traire vers les mur :

Gil dedens ne sont pas a sur."

And again, in the same romance :

-

" Et
pierres grans et les Pierriers,
Et les Bibles qui sont trop fiers,

Getent," &c.

Other names occur at this time, indicating machines

for casting stones some of these are probably mere
:

h k MS.
5
Albericus in Chron. an. 1238, apud Adelung.
Page 751. Page 1091.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 353

synonyms of the words already noticed and of the par- ;

ticular mechanism implied by others, it is vain, in the ab-

sence of cotemporary drawings, to hope for an exact idea.
Besides the engines of the mangona kind, formed by
a sling and weight, there was another class constructed
on the principle of the cross-bow. The Spingarda and
Spingardella (Espringale) appear to have been arbalests
mounted on frames with wheels, somewhat after the
manner of the field-pieces of our own day. The French
used them against the Flemings at the battle of Mons-
en-Puelle in 1304 :

"
Joignant d'eus rot deux Espringales,
Que garons au tirer avancent." Guiart.

They shot forth, not only stones, but darts or quarrels :

"
Et font getter leurs espringales :

Ca
j
et la sonnent li clairain
:

Li garrot, empene d'airain,

Quatre on cinq en percent tout outre."
Guiart, annee 1304.

They were also called Arbalestes a tour, and under this

name are included by Christine de Pisan (in the four-

teenth century) in the armament for a strong siege :

"Deux cens arbalestres, trente autres arbalestes a tour, et

cent autres a croc, douze tours tous neufs, a tendre
. . .

arbalestres," &c. From the last item we see very clearly

that the distinctive name of this arbalest was derived
from the instrument used to bend its powerful bow. The
figure of an espringale mounted on its carriage is given
in the Etudes sur V Ar tiller ie, vol. i. Plate i.

The old contrivances to cover the sappers as they ap-

proached the walls of a besieged place, still continued in

use the Cat, the Cat-castle (chat-chastel\ the Yinea, and
:

other varieties of the mantlet occurring frequently in the

A a
354 ANCIENT ARMOUR

chronicles and poems of the time. The king, in the

Roman de Claris,
" fait ses
engins drecier,
Et les Chats aux fossez mener."

In 1256, the Papal troops, led by the Archbishop of

Eavenna, attack Padua, defended by the partisans of the
tyrant Eccelino ; the archbishop, surrounded by a medley
of knights and monks, soldiers and priests, assaulted the

city at the gate of the Ponte Altinatothey had made :

their approaches under cover of a "kind of moveable

gallery which they called Vinea" The defendants from

their walls poured burning pitch and boiling oil upon
the wooden vinea, so that it took fire but the
city gate ;

being also of wood, the besiegers pushed the machine

1
close to the gate, burnt it down and entered the place .

The Moveable Towers also were still in vogue. Under

the name of berfrois, they are mentioned in the passage
on a preceding page from the Roman de Claris. Under
the year 1204 they are named by Gruiart :

" Un fort Chastel se fust drecie :

Le sommet plus haut en repose

Que les murs de Graillart grant chose."

In Eoy. MS. 20, D. i.,

of about the close of this cen-

tury, the wooden Tower occurs in several of the minia-

tures. It is constructed in the manner of a scaffolding,

having at the top an open platform filled with archers :

its height, that of the city walls, close to which it is

placed. Examples will be found on folios 305, 306 and
besieged, when they were able to discover
317. The the

point to which the assaulting tower was to be moved,

loosened the soil in that spot by digging ; so that, when

1
Rolandini de factis in March. Tarvis., lib. viii. c.13; Monachi Patavini Chron.,p. 693.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 355

the ponderous machine arrived, it was overturned by its

fore- wheels sinking into the soft earth. The Chat-
Chastel combined the beffroi and the cattus.

But the best account that can be offered of the Siege

operations of this time, is furnished by a cotemporary

writer, the Seneschal of Carcassone; himself the com-
mander This very curious docu-
of the defending forces.
ment is preserved in the Archives of France, and has
been published in the Bibliotheque de V Ecole des Chartes,
vol. vii. p. 363.Carcassone was besieged in the autumn
of 1240 by the son of the Yicomte de Beziers and ;

the defender of the city, Guillaume des Ormes, sends to

Queen Blanche, regent of the kingdom during the ab-
sence of Saint Louis, an exact account of the proceedings.
Carcassone was surrounded with a double wall ? furnished
as usual with towers, and having several barbicans in
advance of its various gates.The object of the Barbican
was to afford the besieged the means of a flanking attack :

itwas formed something like a street, with a wall on each

side, terminating in a kind of open tower and it thus :

became necessary that the enemy should act in the first

instance against this outwork; for, by assaulting the

curtain, they would be exposed to a flank attack from
the barbican, and might also be assailed in the rear by
sorties from the head of the work.
" To his most excellent and
highly illustrious mistress,
Blanche, by the grace of God, Queen of the French,
"William des Ormes, Seneschal of Carcassone, her humble
and devoted servant, greeting and faithful service.
"
Madame, you know
this is to let that the city of
Carcassone was besieged by him who calls himself the

m "
Fais du roy Charles," chap. 36.
Compare Christine de Pisan,

A a 2
356 ANCIENT ARMOUR

Viscount, and by Ms accomplices, on the Monday follow-

11

ing the Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary .

And immediately we who were within the city took from

them the suburb Graveillant, which is before the Toulouse
gate ;
and thence we obtained much timber, which was
of great use to us. The said suburb extended from the
Barbican of the city as far as the corner of the said city.
And the same day, our enemies, through the multitude
of their forces, took from us a mill. Afterwards, Olivier
de Termes, Bernard Hugon de Serre-Longue, Geraud
d'Aniort, and those who were with them, lodged them-
selves between the corner of the city and the water and ;

there, on the same day, by means of the ditches in that

and by breaking up the roads which lay between
spot,
them and us, they so fortified themselves that we could
by no means get at them.
" On
another side, between the bridge and the Castle

Barbican, Pierre de Fenouillet and Eenaud de Puy,

Guillaume Fort, Pierre de Tour, and
la many others
of Carcassone, established themselves. And at both

these places they had so many Cross-bowmen that no ,

man could stir out of the city without being wounded.

Afterwards they set up a mangonel before our barbican,
when we lost no time in opposing to it from within an
excellent Turkish petrary p which played upon the man-
,

gonel and those about it ; so that when they essayed to

cast upon us, and saw the beam of our petrary in motion,

they fled, utterly abandoning their mangonel. And in

that place they made ditches and palisades. Yet, as

often as we discharged our petrary, we drove them from

n lar character has not been ascertained.

17 Sep. 1240.
Balistarios. But it was a machine for throwing large
p Petrdricm turquewam. Its particu- stones with considerable force.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 357

it, still being unable to approach the spot on account of

the ditches, the pits, and the bolts from their bows (?)

propter fossata, quarellos et puteos qui ibi erant.

"
Moreover, Madame, they began to mine at the bar-
bican of the Narbonne gate and we, having by listening
;

ascertained where they were at work, proceeded to coun-

termine ;
and we built within the barbican a strong stone
wall, so as still to retain half the barbican in surety :
they
then set the props of their mine, and a breach
fire to was
made in the outer part of our barbican.

"They also began to mine against another tower (tor-

nellam) of the outer ballium, but by countermining we

succeeded in dispossessing them of the work. After-
wards they began (to mine) beneath another wall, and
destroyed two of our battlements (cranellos de liceis):
but we speedily set up a good strong palisade be-
tween us.

"They mined also at the corner of the city, towards

the bishop's house, and beginning their mine from a very

great distance, they came beneath a certain Saracenic wall

q
(murum sarraceneum ) to the wall of the ballium^ which,
when we perceived, we a good strong
forthwith made
palisade between us and them, and countermined. Then
they set fire to the props of their mine, and brought
down about ten fathoms of our battlements. But we
speedily made a good strong palisade, on the top of
which we constructed a good breteche*, with good loop-

i This name was given to a wall forti- or of a tower, carried upon the series of
fied with battlements and machicoulis, corbels called machicoulis. It was usually
the fashion having been originally in- removed in time of peace, being easily
troduced by the Saracens. put up again in time of war for this:

ii A
Breteche was a covered passage reason, examples are not often now to

constructed of wood on the top of a wall be found. There are probably none re-
358 ANCIENT AEMOUR

holes for arrows ;

so that none of them dared to come
near us in this place.
"
They began also to mine at the barbican of the Porte
de Rhodez, working underneath in order to reach our
wall and in that place they formed a wonderfully large
;

passage. But when we perceived this, we immediately

made, on each side of their work, a great and strong
palisade and we also countermined, and having broken
;

into their mine, speedily dispossessed them of it.

"Be it further known to you, Madame, that, from the

beginning of the siege, they have never ceased making

assaults. But we had such good store of cross-bows, and
of brave fellows determined to resist to the utmost, that

they never assaulted us but with very great loss to

themselves.
"At length, on a certain Sunday, they got together
all their men-at-arms, cross-bowmen, and others, and in

a body made an assault on the barbican below the castle :

but we went down into the barbican, and discharged so

many stones and quarrels against them that we forced

them to retire ; many being killed or wounded. On the

maining in England, and they are rare Architecture Militaire du Moyen-Age,

in France, but occasionally occur in a 8vo. Paris, 1854.) There were loopholes
dilapidated state, and the marks where in the outer boarding ; and in the wall

they have been placed are to be seen
on almost every old fortification. They
formed a very important part of the
defensive system in the middle ages. It
was in these wooden galleries that the
archers were chiefly placed, and from them
stones were hurled on the heads of the
assailants through the openings of the
machicoulis, the menbeing entirely pro-
tected by the outer boarding and roof of
the breteche or gallery. (For many en-
behind openings for the supply of pro-
jectiles from the inner passage behind
the parapet wall, in front of which the
breteches were built. These projectiles
were conveyed to the top of the walls or
towers by means of the sort of wells
which we fin'd in the thickness of the
walls of old castles. The Breteches were
also called Hourds. They were some-
times erected on the top of wooden pali-
sades only, as was the case in this in-

gravings of them, see Viollet-Le-Duc, stance.

 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 359

following Sunday, after the Feast of St. Michael, they

made a very fierce assault. But we, thanks to the brave
defence of our men, repulsed them, killing and wounding

many on our side, not one was either slain or mortally

:

wounded.
" The
day after, towards the evening, hearing, Madame,
that your troops were approaching to relieve us, the

enemy set fire to the suburb of Carcassone. They have

entirely destroyed the buildings of the Friars Minor,
and those of the monastery of the Blessed Mary, in the
suburb, using the timber from them to construct their
palisades. But at night all the besiegers furtively with-
drew ; and, with them, those of the suburb.
" In we were
well prepared to hold
sooth, Madame,
out much longer ; for, during the whole siege, not one
of your people, however poor his estate, ever suffered for
want and we had corn and meat enough
of food ;
for a

much more obstinate resistance, if need had been. Be

it known to you, Madame, that these evil-doers, on the
second day of their coming, slew thirty-three priests and
other holy men whom they met on entering the suburb.
Know also, Madame, that the Seigneur P. de Yoisin,

your Constable of Carcassone, E. de Capendu, and Gerard

d'Ermenville, have greatly distinguished themselves in
this affair. But the Constable, by his vigilance, his

bravery and his daring, is entitled to the chief praise of

all. On other matters concerning the district, we can
better render a faithful account, Madame, when we shall
be in your presence. In a word, they began mines
against us in seven different places but we in most
:

cases countermined them, and offered a stout opposition.

They commenced their names at their own quarters, so

360 ANCIENT ARMOUR

that we knew nothing of their approach till

they were
near our walls.
"
Given
at Carcassone, 13 Oct. 1240.
"Know, Madame, that the enemy burned the castles
and towns which they passed in their flight."
The town of Carcassone in its present state is pro-
bably the most perfect fortification of the middle ages
in existence. The whole of the walls, towers, barbicans,
ditches, and even the drawbridges, are still in being,
and wonderfully little injured, considering that they date
from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Enough
remains to restore the whole perfectly, without doubt or
hesitation. An admirable series of plans and drawings
of these interesting fortifications has been made by M.
Yiollet-Le-Duc for the French Government, shewing
every part in its actual state, and an equally complete
series of designs for their restoration, representing them
exactly as they appeared at the siege so well described
by the Seneschal. The accounts relating to the building
of these walls and the preparations for their defence, are
preserved in the French archives. The very valuable and
interesting series of drawings named above was exhibited
by the French government in the Architectural Gallery
of the Exposition des Beaux Arts in 1855, and a great

part of them are beautifully engraved on a reduced scale

in the "Essai sur P Architecture Militaire du Moy en-

Age," already noticed. In these plans the situation of

the castle on one side of the town, and of the different
barbicans as described by the Seneschal, are very clearly
marked. There are a few barbicans remaining perfect in
England, as at Warwick and Alnwick.
The siege of Bedford Castle *in 1224 affords another
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 36]

good example of the mode of attacking a stronghold at

this period. The garrison in this instance were rebels to
the king ; their leader, one Fawkes, a foreigner, a partisan
of the Bishop of Winchester ; though not himself present
at the time of the siege. The castle was invested by the
king himself. Two lofty towers of wood, of the kind
already described, were raised by the walls and filled
with archers. Seven mangonee cast forth ponderous
stones from morning till night. Sappers approached the
walls under cover of the Cat. First, the barbican, then
the outer ballium, was taken. A breach in the second
wall soon after gave the besiegers admission to the inner

bailey. The donjon still held out, and the royalists pro-
ceeded to attack it by means of their sappers. A suffi-

cient portion of the foundations having been removed,

the stanchions were set on fire, one of the angles sank

deep into the ground, and a wide rent laid open the in-
terior of the keep. The garrison now planted the royal
standard on the tower, and sent the women to implore

mercy. But a severe example was required, in order to

strike terror among the disaffected in other quarters of

the realm. The kniglrts and others, therefore, to the

number of eighty, were hanged; the archers were sent
redeem their fault by fighting against
into Palestine, to
the enemies of the faith; while their leader, Fawkes,
who now surrendered himself at Coventry, was banished
8
from the island .

Matthew Paris records the existence of a singular and

somewhat poetical Monument of Victory, left to celebrate
the capture of a castle in the Campagna of Borne. The
8
Wendover (in Paris, p. 270) j Dunstab., p. 142 ; New Bymer, vol. i.
p. 175.
Annal. Wigorn., p. 486.
362 ANCIENT ARMOUR

emperor "had taken a castle near Montfort, belonging to

the nephews and other relatives of the pope, which he,
the pope, had newly built with the money of the Cru-
saders. The emperor destroyed the fortress, hanged all

whom he found therein, and in token of the destruction

of it,
left a sort of tower half-destroyed, that the memory
of the offence, as well as of his vengeance, might never
die*.

SEA-FIGHTS werestill achieved

by the same knights,
and "
men-at-arms, archers satellites/' as contended in
land warfare. A
good pictorial example of a naval battle
of this time occurs on folio 357 of Eoy. MS. 20, D. i.

VO
See also of the same MS., for the picture of an
fol. 23
armed Further examples of a similar kind will be
fleet.

found in this very curious volume, as well as of Tents

and many other objects of military use.
TOURNAMENTS continued to enjoy a large amount of
favour among the nobles and knights, and their retainers :

but princes began to see that these great armed meetings

of their powerful vassals, in the facilities they afforded for
combinations against the royal power, and in the imposing
exhibition of the baronial force jand dignity necessarily
involved in these pageants, were full of danger to the

kingly order ; and, in consequence, forbade their celebra-

tion except under express permission of the sovereign".
The plea was, the dangers incurred by the competitors at
these mock battles, and the disorders to which they some-
times led. And indeed it was not difficult to justify the

prohibition on these grounds. Among many instances

that might be quoted of the tumultuous termination of a

1
Paris, p. 510, sub. an. 1241. See Renault, vol. iii.
p. 971. ed. 1774.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 363

tournament, we may notice that of Eochester in 1251.

" In this same v " on the Feast of
year," says Paris ,

the Conception of the Blessed Virgin, a fierce Tourna-

ment was held at Eochester between the English and
foreigners, in which the foreigners were so shamefully

beaten that they disgracefully fled to the city for re-

fuge; but, being met by knights coming in an oppo-

they were again attacked, despoiled, and
site direction,

soundly beaten with sticks and staves: and thus they

returned with much interest the blows and injuries they
had received tournament of Brackley. The anger
at the

and hatred between the English and foreigners increased

in consequence, and became daily more fearful." Another
striking example of this century is the hastilude between

King Edward I. and the Count of Chalons in 1274, which

was of so serious a nature as to receive the name of "La
petite Bataille de Chalons." The king, returning from
the Holy Land, to take possession of his crown, was in-
vited by the Count to participate in a tourney which he
was preparing. The king's company is said to have been
a thousand only, while those engaged on the Count's side
are estimated at double the number. But this is the
estimate of English chroniclers. The tourneyers met
near Chalons, some on horseback, others on foot, armed
with swords. The Count, who was a very powerful man,
singled out the king for an antagonist; cast aside his
sword, threw his arms round the neck of the monarch,
and used drag him from his horse. But
all his force to

the king, taking advantage of the tight hold by which

the Count had fixed himself to his person, and relying
on his own strength, suddenly clapped spurs to his horse,

v
Page 715.
364 ANCIENT ARMOUR

carried away the Count out of his saddle, and then by a

violent shake tumbled him to the ground. Being re-
mounted, the Count renewed the attack, but with no
greater success than before. His knights, meanwhile,
exasperated at the discomfiture of their leader, began to
assail the English with all the rancour of real warfare.

The English returned wound for wound the " Joust of :

Peace" became a " Joute a outrance:" Edward's archers

plied their terrible arrows, routed the troops opposed to
them, rushed upon the knights, slew their steeds or cut
ground many a
their saddle-girths, so as to bring to the
x
sturdy baron and rich prisoner .

Of the mandates issued for the suppression of tourna-

ments, many examples have come down to us. The Fcedera
contains a considerable number. Some were sent forth

by the temporal prince, others were launched by the spi-

ritual arm ; for it was no difficult matter in these days to

obtain the pope's aid in any scheme of this nature, where

a benevolent intention could be assigned, and a liberal
douceur had been supplied. In 1220, Pandulf the legate
forbids a tournament in England, under pain of the for-
feiture of goods and of excommunication y . In 1234, the
king of England charges his subjects that they offend not
L

by tourneying or behourding (luhurdare vel torneare' ).

In 1255 the royal inhibition is again sent forth, and the

reason given for its publication is the peril of Prince
Edward in " eo
Gascony :
quod Edwardus, films Eegis
in gravi periculo existit in "WasconiaV 1265 is the
b
date of another In 1299, the king again issues his
.

mandate : this time with penalties of peculiar severity.

x
Trivet, Hemingford, Westminster, Walsingham, ad an. 1274.
v z * b
-
Eymer, vol. i. p. 162. Ibid., p. 213. Ibid., p. 323. Ibid., p. 450.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 365

The knight is forbidden " sub forisfactura vite et mem-

brorum, et omnium que tenet in dicto regno, torneare,
bordeare, seu justas facere, aventuras querere, aut alias
ad arma quoquo modo, sine nostra licencia speciali."
ire,
Should any dare to disobey, then they are forthwith to be
arrested and placed in safe custody, " corpora ipsorum,
una cum equis et hernesio suisV
Whilst, however, the monarch of timid character and
jealous of his baronage, looked with disrelish on the
Tournament, the prince of .an enterprising disposition
and skilled in military exercises, naturally regarded with
more complacency a pastime in which his own achieve-
ments were placed in the most brilliant light, and the
respect and attachment of his nobles secured, by the
exhibition of those qualities on which they themselves
founded their chief claim to power and distinction. Thus,
in the thirteenth century, when the king (Henry III.)
had created eighty new knights, the gallant Prince Ed-
ward accompanied them to a tournament which had been
proclaimed on the continent, "that each might try his
d
strength, as was the custom with newly-made knights ."
In 1253, the Earl of Gloucester with a companion also
went abroad, to take part in a marriage festivity and in
a tournament which followed it an adventure in which
:

they were so roughly handled by the antagonist knights

as to require daily fomentations and bathing to restore
6
them to health .

Eegarding the equipment of the knights and their as-

sistants at the Tournament, there are two documents of

this century which are of the highest interest and afford

c d
Page 916. See also pp. 964, 976, Matthew of Westminster, p. 300.
977 and 979. e
Westminster, p. 252.
366 ANCIENT ARMOUR

the most curious information. These are the " Statutum

Armorum ad Torniamenta," compiled previous to 1295 ;
and the roll detailing the "
Empciones facte contra Tor-

niamentum de Parco de Windsore," in the 6th year of

Edward I.; from the latter of which we have already
extracted some passages illustrative of various portions
of the knightly armament.

By the tournament statute we learn that there existed

at this time a sort of Court of Honour, to judge all dis-
putes and delinquencies that might arise during the cele-
bration of the games and the members of it were the
;

king's eldest son, Prince Edward ; Edmund, earl of Lan-

caster;
William de Valence, earl Gilbert of Pembroke ;

de Clare, earl of Gloucester; and the earl of Lincoln.

As De Valence, the last of his name, died in 1296, and
the earl of Gloucester in 1295, the date of this document
f
cannot of course be later than the year last quoted It .

is not unworthy of note that the effigies of two of these

Judges of the Tournament, fully equipped in the trap-

pings of armed knighthood, have been preserved to our
days the monuments of Edmund Crouchback and of
:

William de Valence in Westminster Abbey are among

the most curious memorials that can be consulted by the
student of ancient military costume. There are several
copies of the statute extant. The following, from a
manuscript in the Bodleian Library, has been selected
by the Eecord Commission as the most trustworthy e :

" A la requeste de Contes e de Barons e de la Chivalrie de Eng-

let're, ordine est e p nostro Seignr le B/ey comaunde qe nul ne seit
:

sihardi desoremes, Conte ne Baron ne autre Chivaler, qe al Torney

voysent de aver plus qe treys Esquiers armez, pur li servir al Turney :

t
See Arch&ologia, vol. xvii. p. 298. * Statutes of the Realm, vol. i. p. 230.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 367

e qe chescun Esquier porte chapel des armes son Seignur qe il ser-

vira a la jornee pur enseygne.
"E
qe nul Cfcr ne Esquier qe sert al Turney ne porte espeie a
point, ne cotel a point, ne bastoun, ne mace, fors espee large pur
turneer. E qe tuz les baneors, qe baners portent, seent armez de
k
mustilers h e de quisers e de espaulers, e de bacyn sanz plus.
,
1
,

" E
sil avent qe nul Conte ou Baron ou autre Chivaler voyse en-
r
contre le estatut p le assent e le comaundemt nostre Seign Sire
Edward, fiz le Hey, e Sire Eumond Willeme de
frere le Rey, e Sire

Valence, e Sire Gilftt de Clare, e le Cunte de Nichole qe cell Chi- 1

,

valer, qe issint s'ra trove en forfetaunt en nul poynt encontre le es-

tatut, seyt encurru cele peyne qe il perde chival e armes, e de-
:

meorge en prison a la volunte de avautdiz Sire Edward, Sire Eumond,

e le autres. E qe Esquier qe serra trove fesaunt encontre le esta-
le

tut, qe issi est devise, en acun poynt, perde chival e herneys m e seyt
iij.
aunz en la prison. E qe nul sake Chivaler a terre, fors ceus qe
11

serrunt armez pur lur Seignr servir, qe le Chivaler pusse recovrir son
chival, e cely seit en la forfeture des Esquiers avaunt diz.
"E
qe nul fiz de graunt Seignur, ceo est asaver, de Conte ou de
Baron, ne seit arme fors de mustilers, e de quisers, e de espaulers,
e de bacynet, saunz plus, e qe nul aporte cutel a poynte, ne espeye,
ne mace, fors espee large. E si nul seit trove qe, en ascun de
ceos poynz, alast encontre le estatut, qe il perde son chival le quel
il serra munte a la
jornee, e seit en la prison un an.
"E qe ceus qe vendrunt pur veer le turnemt ne seent armez de
nule manere de armure, ne qe il ne portent ne espee, ne cutel, ne
bastun, ne mace, ne perre, sur la forfeture des Esquiers avauntdiz.
E qe nul garson, ne home a pee ne porte espee, ne cutel, ne baston,
ne perrer : e si il seent trovez enforfetaunt, qe il seyent emprisonez

vij. aunz.
" E
acun graunt Seign r ou autre teygne mangerie, qe nul esquier
si

ne ameyne eynz fors ceus qe trencherunt devaunt lur Seignurs.

"E qe nul Roy de Haraunz ne Menestrals portent privez armez,
ne autres forz lur espees saunz poynte. E qe le Keys des Harraunz
eyent lur huces des armes saunz plus." &c.

This document affords us some curious glimpses at the

h
A doubtful word. It has been held l
Lincoln,
mean the kind of cloth called " muster- m The
to squire's armour,
" " Succour.
develers a body-armour seems implied.
1
Cuissards.
" Mareschaus." Lib. Horn.
k
"Bacynette." Lib. Horn.
368 ANCIENT ARMOUR

customs of the time ;

not less by what it forbids than by
what it ordains. A tournament in which the combatants
are liable to be pelted by the stones and slings of the
varlets and other lookers-on, does not give us a very
exalted idea of these festivals
and, for a holiday game,
;

the rules seem oddly severe which decree that the poor

squirewho infringes them shall lose horse and armour,

"
and demeorge iij. aunz en la prison."
The Eoll of Purchases made for the Tournament of
Windsor Park, "per manum Adinetti cissoris" is pre-
served in the Tower of London, and bears date 9th of

July in the sixth year of Edward I. (1278). The jousts

were of the kind called "Jousts of Peace," and the
knights for whom armour is provided are thirty-eight in
number. Of " and
these, twelve are styled digniores,"
wore gilded helms, while the remainder had head-pieces
that were silvered only. A "memorandum" informs us
that each suit consisted of one coat-of-fence, one surcoat,
one pair of ailettes, two crests (of which, one for the

horse), one shield, one helm of leather, and one sword

M
made of whalebone. " d qd in quo p tines fu'unt j.
Tunic' arm :
j. cooptor: j. par alett. Itm ij.
Crest & j.

Blazon & una galea cor & j.

ensis de Balon." Each coat-

of-fence was composed of a Cuirass and Arm-defences.

The cuirasses (quirettw) being supplied by "Milo the
Currier," were probably of leather, as the helms were :

"De Milon le Cuireur. xxxviij. quiret: p'c pec iij.

s."

For each of them were furnished two ells of the cloth

called"Carda;" while eight pieces of "Diaper" contri-
buted to the formation of the whole thirty-eight :

"
Pro qualibet quirett ij. uln card.
Pro eisd' lines armand' viij. diasper."

The carda is charged at fourpence an ell ;

the diaper at
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 369

eight shillings the piece. "Ten buckrams" are supplied

to form the arm-defences " Item
:
p xxxviij. par bracfc
x. bukerann." And the whole of these are painted :

" Item & pictur xxxviij.

p fcur par Brach' de Bokeran
p'c par iiij.
d." These body-armours must have differed
very widely in their structure or embellishment; for
while the Harness-of-Arms of Walter de Sancto Martino

only cost seven shillings, that of the Earl of Lincoln

amounted to thirty-three shillings and fourpence. Little
bells were added to the equipment either of the knight's
or their horses perhaps both and they were purchased
;
:

of Eichard Paternoster :
" De Eico pat'nr DCCC. Nola3
sive TintunabuP p'c cent. iij.
s." This decoration of
bells obtained great favour in the next two centuries.
The surcoats of the four earls p were of Cindon silk,
the remaining thirty-four of Carda: "Pro iiij. cooptor
or
p iiij
Comit ij.
Cind &
?
di. Item p xxxiiij. eooptor.
cxix. uln. card." The ailettes were made of leather and
" D. Milon le
carda, being fastened by laces of silk :

Cuireur. xxxviij. par alett cor p'c par viiij. d. . . . Item

pro xxxviij. par alett xix. uln. card. . . .
viij.Duoden
Iaqueo3 seric p alett p'c duoden viij. d." Each helm
and each horse had a crest, which was made of calf-skin,
and fastened by the chas tones and clavones already noticed
at page 347. Stephen the Joiner supplied thirty-eight
shields of wood at fivepence each: "De Stepho Junctor
xxxviij. scut fustin p'c scuti. v. d." Being elsewhere
called Uazonce, we may conclude they were heraldically

ensigned. The helms were of leather, supplied by

Eobert Erunnler in their crude state at sixteenpence per

The Earls of Cornwall, Gloucester, Warren and Lincoln.

Bb
 370 ANCIENT AHMOUR

helm but afterwards embellished by Ealph de la Haye,

;

who gilt twelve of them with pure gold for the chief
knights at a shilling apiece, and silvered the remainder
at eightpence each : "De Bob'o Erunnler xxxviij. galee
de cor p'c galee xvj. d. Item Bacto dela Haye p Batur

xij. galea3 de auro pur p dingmor ariii prec galee xij.

d.

Eidem pro Batur xxvi. gaP de argento, p'c gaP viij. d. 77

^L^^ The swords were made of whalebone and parchment,

their blades silvered, the hilt and pommel gilt: "De
Petro le Furbeur (the furbisher) xxxviii. glad' fact de
Balen & Parcomen, p'c pec vij. d. ItiTi p Batur dco3
glad' de argent' xxv. s. ItiTi
p Batur pomelP & hilt

eo3d' de auro pur iij. s. vi. d."

The sum-total paid for these thirty-eight equipments,

including their carriage from London to Windsor, was

80 11s. Sd. Other purchases were made at Paris, of
which a portion appears to have been for the tournament,
as the horse furniture, already noticed at page 340.
Other articles are of a miscellaneous
character, as hawk-
ing-gloves, furs for mantles, carpets, and "a hundred
fromages de Brie for the King and Queen" (c.
casei de
Bria pro Eege et Eegina, precium xxxv. s.). The whole
of the document, however, deserves a careful investiga-

tion, though we have extracted the chief particulars

which illustrate the subject of
our inquiry. It is printed
in full in the seventeenth volume of the Archceologia.
There was & variety of the tournament in vogue during
this century, called the Bound Table of which, though ;

some curious have been preserved, the particular

details

characteristic has not been ascertained. Matthew Paris q

i
Page 729.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 371

has noted with, especial distinctness that the Tabula

rotunda was not a mere new name given to an old sport,
but that it was a pastime of a different kind. " In this

year, 1252, he says, the knights of England, in order to

prove their skill and bravery in military practices, unani-
mously determined to try their powers, not in the sport
commonly and vulgarly called a Tournament, but in that
military game which is named The Eound Table :
(non
ut in hastiludio illo quod communiter et vulgariter Tor-

neamentum dicitur, sed potius in illo ludo militari qui

Mensa Eotunda dicitur :) therefore, at the Octave of the
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, they assembled in great
numbers at the Abbey of Wallenden, flocking together
from the north and from the south, and some also from
the continent. And, according to the rules of that war-
like sport, on that day and the day following, some Eng-
lish knights disported themselves with great skill and
valour, to the pleasure and admiration of all the fo-

reigners there present. On the fourth day following,

two knights of great valour and renown, Arnold de Mon-
tigny and Eoger de Lemburn, came forth completely
armed after the manner of knights, and mounted on
choice and handsome horses. And, as they rushed on-
ward to encounter with their lances, Eoger aimed his
weapon, the point of which was not blunted, as it ought
to have been, so that it entered under the helm of Arnold,
and pierced his throathe was unarmed in that part
: for
of his body, being without a collar (carens collario)"

Montigny expired on the spot, and the festivities were

" those
turned to mourning ;
so that who had come thither
in joy and gladness, separated on a sudden amid grief
and lamentation ; De Lemburn at once making a vow to
B b 2
372 ANCIENT ARMOUE

assume the Cross and undertake a pilgrimage for the re-

lease of the soul of Arnold."

From this relation we learn that the knights, fully

armed, contended with lances on horseback, and that it

was an especial rule of the combat that the lance-heads

should be blunt or " rebated."
In 1280, the eighth of Edward I., earl Koger de Mor-
timer held a Round Table at his Castle of Kenilworth.
" It " a
was," says Dugdale, great and famous concourse
of noble persons called the Round Table consisting of an ,

hundred Knights and as many Ladies, whereunto divers

repaired from foreign parts for the exercise of Arms,
viz., Tilting and martial Tournaments the reason of the:

Round Table being to avoyd contention touching pre-

cedency a Custome of great antiquity, and used by the
;

antient Gauls, as Mr. Cambden in Hantsh. from Athenceus

(an approved Author) observes." The original authorities

for this description of the Kenilworth Round-Table festi-

val are Trivet and "Walsingham, and the passages

may be
seen either in their histories, ad an. 1280, or in Ducange,
sub voce Tabula Rotunda. Dugdale seems to have had
the notion that, to avoid disputes about
precedency, all
the j ousters dined together at the Round Table ; but it
must have been a large table to have accommodated " an
hundredKnights," to say nothing of the hundred Ladies.
It seems more probable, comparing this institution with

others of an analogous character, that a certain number

of knights, representing (and perhaps assuming the names
of) King Arthur and his far-famed band of warriors, held
the field "
against all comers." This view receives some
" the
support from the well-known relic at Winchester,
rownde table of Kyng Arthur and hys Knyghtes," which
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 373

ispainted in compartments, each bearing the name of one

of the fraternity. The table in question is not, indeed,
more ancient than about the beginning of the sixteenth
century ; but, as the Hall at Winchester in which it is

preserved of the thirteenth century (the very period

is

in which the sport of the Tabula Rotunda came into

vogue), it seems likely that this table represents some

more ancient one which time has destroyed. The existing
"King Arthur's Bound Table" is figured in the Win-
chester volume of the Archseological Institute; and in
the notice of it in that volume is cited a curious passage
from Leroux de Lincy (himself quoting Diego de Yera,
who was present at the marriage of Philip and Mary),
by which appears that tradition had assigned to a par-
it

ticularcompartment the name of "the place of Judas or

the perilous seat :" " Lors du mariage de Philippe II.
r
avec la reine Marie, on montroit encore a Hunscrit la
table ronde fabriquee par Merlin : elle se composoit de
25 compartimens en blanc et en vert : dans chaque di-
vision etoient ecrits le nom du cavalier et celui du roi.

L'un de ces compartimens, appele Place de Judas ou

Siege perilleux, restoit toujours vide." Judas appears to
have been interpolated from one of the Mystery Plays of
the Middle- Ages, and it must be confessed that a table
"made by Merlin" and surrounded by King Arthur and
his knights, with Judas for a boon-companion, has in it

a certain boldness of concatenation which might well

strike with awe the solemn mind of Don Diego de Vera,
on the occasion of his visit to Hunscrit. A passage in

r
Probably for Hampshire ; a wide and French, we shall be less inclined to
deviation : but when we remember that wonder at its present state.
the word has passed through the Spanish
374 ANCIENT ARMOUR

the Faits de Bouciquaut seems to imply that holding a

Bound Table meant a hastilude in which the challengers
house " Ainsi fit la son moult
kept open :
appareil
grandement et tres honnorablement Messire Bouciquaut,
et fit faire provisions de tres bons vins, et de tous vivres
largement et' a plain, et de tout ce qu'il convient, si

plantureusement comme pour tenir table ronde a tous ve-

nans tout le diet temps durant, et tout aux propres de-

spens de Bouciquaut ."

8

If the nobles of the land retained their fondness for the

military pastimes of their order, the commonalty were

not less attached to the cognate sports of their class. In-

deed, their enthusiasm sometimes led them to an excess

of ambition which resulted in an armed contest between
the two bodies of knight and craftsman: they dared to
t

practise the exercise of the quintain for the prize of a

peacock! the peacock, that noble bird, every feather in
whose tail was an eye qf disdain contumeliously glower-
ing upon the whole generation of plebeians.
The inexhaustible Matthew Paris again furnishes us
with an illustration :
" In the
first fortnight of Lent

(1253), the young men of London tested their own powers

and the speed of their horses in the sport which is com-
monly called the Quintain, having fixed on a Peacock as
the prize of the contest. Some attendants and pages of
the king's household (he being then at Westminster) were

indignant at this, and insulted the citizens, calling them

rustics, scurvy and soapy wretches, and at once entered
the field to oppose them. The Londoners eagerly accepted
their challenge, and, after beating their backs with the
broken spear-shafts till
they were black and blue, they
*
Chap. xvi.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 375

hurled all the royal attendants from their horses or put

them to flight. The fugitives then went to the king and
with clasped hands and gushing tears besought him not
to let so great an offence go unpunished and he, resort-
;

ing to his usual kind of vengeance, extorted from the

citizens a large sum of money."

Figures of the quintain and the tilters may be seen in

Strutt's Sports the manuscripts he has used are of a
:

somewhat later date, (that is,

fourteenth century,) but the
forms of the quintains may be fairly taken as similar to
those of the preceding age.
In the thirteenth century we first obtain a pictorial
representation of theLEGAL DUEL, or wager of battle :

rude, it is
true, but curiously confirming the written
testimony that has come down to us of the arms and
apparel of the Champions.

No. 88.

This drawing has been carefully traced from one of the

" Miscellaneous Bolls" in the
Tower, of the time of Henry
III. The combatants are Walter Elowberme and Hamun
le Stare,the latter being the vanquished champion, and

figuring a second time in the group as undergoing the

376 ANCIENT ARMOUR

punishment incidental to Ms defeat. The names of the

duellers are written over the figures, the central one

being that of the victor. Both are armed with the quad-
rangular bowed shield and a "baston" headed with a
double beak. Britton (De Jure Angliae, fol. 41) exactly
describes their " Puis voisent combattre armes
arming :

sans fer et sans longe arme, a testes decouvertes et a

mains nues (a pie ?) ovesque deux bastons cornuts d'une
longueur, et chascun de eux d'un escu de quatre corners,
sauns autre arme dont nul ne puisse autre griever." The
exact length of the batons we learn from a statute of
" Statuimus
Philip of France in 1215 :
quod Campiones
non pugnent de caetero cum baculis qui excedant lon-
gitudinem trium pedum." They might, however, con-
tinues the statute, use staves of shorter dimensions, if

they thought proper.

The arming " sans fer" mentioned above is made more
clear by a passage of the "Coustumier of Normandy," chap.
28 "
:
(Les champions doivent etre) appareillez en leurs
cuiries, ou en leurs cotes, avec leurs escus, et leurs bas-
tons cornus, armez si comme mestier sera de drap, de

cuir, de laine et d'estoupes. Es escus, ne es bastons, ne

es armures de jambes, ne doit aver fors fust ou cuir, ou

ci qui est pardevant dit; ne ils ne peuvent avoir autre

instrument a grever Tun Pautre fors Pescu et le baston."
The bare heads and cropped hair of our duellers are in

conformity with another ordinance of the Camp-fight :

" Les Chevaliers

qui se combate por murtre ou por ho-
micide, se doive combatre a pie, et sans coiffe, et estre
roignes a la reonde 1 " the
Compare of the cham-figure

*
Assi*. Hieros., cap. 101.
 AND WEAPONS IN EUROPE. 377

pion of BishopWy vil, which appears

on the monumental
brass of the prelate in Salisbury Cathedral: date 1375.
It is engraved in Waller's Brasses, Part ix., and in Car-
" For an extended
ter's Painting and Sculpture." series

of evidences relating to the custom of Wager of Battle,

see Ducange or Adelung, v. Campiones, and compare

Henault, ad an. 1260.

CA.ERPHILLT CASTLE, GLAMORGANSHIRE.

Built about 1275.

No. 89.
 INDEX.

monk of St. Gerrnain-des-Pres, his poisoned, Pt. i. 54 ; found in graves,

account of the siege of Paris in 886, Pt. 55; tri-barbed, Pt. ii. 157;
i.

p. 88. within and without the Forest, 211,

Advocati of the Church, Part ii. 165. 212; with phials of quick-lime at-

Adze-axe, Part i. 45, 48. tached, 325.

Aestii, 68. Arrows figured, 56, 195, 199, 201.
Agathias, 4, 5, 16. Artillerie, 203.
Ailettes, 245, 368; various forms of, Astrologers, Part ii. 118, Pt. iii. 227.
250; their purpose, 251; enriched, Axe, Part i. 5, 12, 45, Pt. ii. 104, 153,
252 ; of leather, 369. Pt. iii. 213, 319 ; of copper and iron,
Ailettes figured, 247, 250, 254. Pt. i. 45 ; inscribed, Pt. i. 47 ; handle

Aketon, 129. of, Pt. i. 49; handle of iron, Pt. i. 50;

Aldhelm, bishop of Sherhorne, his enigma, Danish, Pt. i. 12, Pt. iii. 219, 320,
" De
Lorica," 62. 321 ; carved on knightly tomb, 318 ;

Andegavi, 9. double-axe (see Bipennis).

Anelace, 315. Axes figured, 46, 205, 206.
Anglo-Saxons, 9, 15, 17, 21, 65.

Angon, 6, 25.
Arabic Treatise on the Art of War in the
Bainbergse, 244.
thirteenth century, 329. Part Pt.
Balista, i. 88, ii. 158, (see
Arbalest (see Cross-bow).
Cross-bow).
Arbalestina, 204. Ban, Pt. i. 99.
Archers, Part ii. 100, 104, 105, 115, 157, Banded-mail, 260 ; effigies exhibiting it,
186, Pt. iii. 198, 224; mounted, Pt. ii. 260 note, 267; for horse-trappers, 267;
102, Pt. iii. 195 ; of Anjou, 200 ; placed for elephant-trappers, 267.
at the wings, Pt. iii. 224 ; intermixed
Banner, Pt. i. 95, Pt. ii. 165, Pt.iii. 334;

with cavalry, 225. 332 ; of French

imperial, of the Eagle,
Arcubalestarii, 201. king to be borne by the Chief Cham-
Arrnati, 197. berlain,334 ; of St. Paul of London,
Armour (see Body-armour). 335 ; of St. John of Beverley, 338.
Arms, View of, Part iii. 211. Bannerer of London in the thirteenth
Army forms barrier of carts and wagons, century, 334.
225. Barbican, 355; examples of, remaining
Arriere-ban, Pt. ii. 98, 99, Pt. iii. 212. in England, 360.

Arrows, Pt. i. 54, Pt. ii. 156, Pt. iii. 325 ; Basques, 99, 219.
380 INDEX.
Bassinet, 292, 367. in graves, 57; its superiority to the
Baton, 131, 322. Cross-bow, 160.
Battering-Ram, Ft. i. 88, Pt. ii. 178. Bows figured, 195, 199, 201, 205, 206.
Battle of the Casilin, 16; of Hastings, Brabanters, 99.
16, 19, 21, 55, 114; of Stanford Brachieres, 240, 369.

Bridge, 20 j of Cuton Moor, or of the Brasses, monumental, Pt. iii. 193, 195
Standard, 108 ; of Bovines, 198, 343 ; note.

of Falkirk, 217; of Lewes, 331; of Breast-plate, early example of, 271.

Nuova Croce, 342. Breteche, 357 and note.
Bayeux Tapestry, 93, 120. Bridles, Pt. i. 79, Pt. ii. 171, Pt. iii. 341.
Beads, found in graves of Anglo-Saxon Brigands, 196, 206.
period, 39. Bronze Period, 1.

Beah, 10. Bucula, 292.

Beard, its fashion, Pt. i. 21, Pt. ii. 149, Burgundians, 9.
Pt. iii. 300. Byrnie, Pt. i. 12, 61, Pt. ii. 109.
Beflroi, 173, 354.

Behourd, Pt. ii. 182, Pt. iii. 211. Caerphilly Castle, xxv., 377.
Bells used in tournament equipment, Caliburn, 152.
369. Caltrops, 172.
Berefreid, 174. Canute, 10.
Bezanted armour, 255. Capitularies of Charlemagne, 8, 9, 14, 15,
Biblia, 352. 54, 61.
Bidaux, Pt. iii. 196, 206. of Charles le Chauve, 8, 166.
Biifa, 349. Captains of Bowmen, 214.
Bill, Pt. i. 57, 58, Pt. iii. 324. Carcassone, Siege of, 355; its present
Bipennis, Pt. i. 5, 45, 48, Pt. ii. 154, state, 360.
Pt. iii. 320. Carda, a kind of cloth used in the fabri-
Bisacuta, 155. cation of armour, 240, 368.

Biturici, 9. Cargan, 241.

Blazonse, 369. Carrocio, Part i. 86, Pt. ii. 107, 165,
Body-armour, Part i. 60, Pt. ii. 119, Pt. Pt. iii. 331.
iii. 227 ; at first used
by chiefs only, Casilinus, battle of the, 16, 17.
61 ; of chain-mail, 61, 227, 233 ; of
Casque normand, 130.
jazerant, Pt. i. 64, Pt. ii. Ill ; of hide, Castle, Norman, xii., 189.
Pt. i. 64 ; quilted, Pt. i. 64, Pt. ii. 134, Edwardian, xxv., 377.
Pt. iii. 229, 239; of scale-work, Pt. i. Cat or Cattus, an engine for siege pur-
65, Pt. ii.
255; of
132, 133, Pt. iii.
poses, Part ii. 178, Pt. iii. 353, 361.
leather, 132, 240 ; of horn, 133 ; stud- Catapulta, 89.
ded, 134, 243, 255, 256; of banded- Ceorl, 10, 38.
mail, 260; with breast and back- Cervelliere, 292 ; its invention, 293.
plates, 271. Chain-mail, Part i. 61, Pt. ii. 130, Pt.
Body-guard, Pt. i. 10, Pt. ii. 100. iii. 227; early fragment in British
Boots, 136. Museum, 63 ; various modes of re-
Bosses (see Shields). shewn of dif-
presenting, 123, 270;
Bosses figured, 73, 75. ferent colours, 270.
Bovines, battle of, 198, 343. Chanfrein, 348.
Bow (long-bow), Part i. 54, Pt. ii. 105, Chantones, 292.
" en
156, 160, Pt. iii. 199, 211, 325 ; found Charge haie," 115, 223.
 INDEX. 381

Charlemagne, his armour, 8 ; his sword Cross-bow, Pt. ii. 158, Pt. iii. 325;
and belt, 38 ; (see Capitularies).
various kinds of, 326, 353.
Chastones, 347. Cross-bows figured, 201, 205.

Chat-Chastel, 355. Cross-bowmen, mounted, Pt. iii. 195,

Chausses, 134; studded, Pt. ii.

iron, 202 ; in thirteenth century, 201 ;

134, Pt. iii. 243, 255 ; of chain-mail, wearing armour, 204; placed on the
241 ; of chain-mail, laced behind, 241 ; wings, 225.
of banded-mail, 242 ; with poleyns, Cuirie, Pt. iii. 240, 368.

242. Cultellus, Pt. ii. 154, Pt. iii. 210, 314.

Chausson, 242 ; with knee-pieces, 243. Cultellarius, 155.

Childebert I., 30, 47. Culvertage, Pt. iii. 213 and note.

18. Cuneus, Pt. i. 16, Pt. iii. 223.

II.,

Chinese armour, 120. Cuton Moor, battle of, 108.

incendiary weapons, 331.

Chivalry, 94, 97. Dagger, Pt. i. 7, 43, 51, Pt. ii. 110, 154,
Church, armed contingent of, 9. Pt. iii. 318 ; of bronze and iron, Pt. i.

Circle, the ornament of the coif and hood 53 ; inlaid, 53 carved on knightly
;

of mail, Pt. iii. 235, 237. tomb, Pt. iii. 318 ; at Durham, of the
Clavones, 347. thirteenth century, 318.

Clergy militant, Pt. i. 14, Pt. ii. 108, Daggers figured, 52, 244, 283.
113, 153, Pt. iii. 220. Dagger-sheath, Pt. i. 43, 53.
Clientes, 196, 208. Danes, Pt. i. 12.
Clovis, 9, 17. Danish axe, Pt. i. 12, Pt. iii. 219, 320.
Club, 324. Destrier, Pt. iii. 197, 340.
Code, military, Pt. ii. 103. Divers employed against shipping, Pt. ii.

Ccenomanici, 9. 177.
Coif of mail, continuous, Pt. ii. 130; Duel, Legal, 375.
flat-topped, Pt. iii. 235; rounded,
235 ;
how fastened, 235 ; worn with
Eagle, Imperial, 164, 332.
or without other head-defence, 236 ;
Effigies, knightly, Pt. iii. 193; works
under-coif, 238 ;
with front of plate,
illustrative of, 194 note.
291.
Engines, military, Pt. i. 87, Pt. ii. 173,
Coin, with figure of a Frankish warrior,
Pt. iii. 224, 348 ; Arabic in thirteenth
31.
century, 329.
Collarium, Pt. iii. 234.
Eorl, 9, 38.
Communal militia, Pt. i. 99, Pt. ii. 166,
Espeeal'estoc, 314.
Pt. iii. 195.
Esquire, Pt. ii. 95, Pt. iii. 195.
Connoissances, Pt. ii. 167, Pt. iii. 196.
Espringale, Pt. iii. 224, 353.
Constables, Pt. iii. 211 ; of bowmen, Pt.
Exempts, 9.
iii. 214 ; of cavalry, Pt. iii. 215.
Exercises of military aspirants, Pt. i. 83,
Contus, 155.
Pt. ii. 181, 185, 188.
Copita, 348.
CotereUi, 99.
Coudieres, 234. Falarica, 89.

Coustillers, 196, 204. Falchion, Pt. iii. 312.

Crest, fan, for helm, 142; for knight, figured, 313.

Falkirk, battle 217.
347, 368 ; for horse, 347, 368. of,

Croc, 324. Falx, faus, or falso, Pt. iii. 211, 323.

382 INDEX.
Faussar, 324. Gunpowder, 89.
Female warriors, Pt. i. 15. Gwentland, archers of, 105.

spies, 209.
Fetel, 10. Hair, how worn, Pt. ii. 148, Pt. iii. 301.
Feudal levy, Pt. i. 95, Pt. ii. 103, Pt. iii.
Halbard, Pt. i. 11, Pt. iii. 323.
195. Harold II., 18, 64.

Fitzstephen, his description of London Harold Harfagar, 20.

games in the twelfth century, 185. Hastiludes, 181.
Flag, lance, Pt. ii. 150, 167, 168, Pt. iii.
Hastings, battle of, 16, 19, 21, 55, 114.
305, 338. Hauberk, Pt. ii. 129, Pt. iii. 233; with
Flags, Pt. i. 84, Pt. ii. 163, Pt. iii. 331. continuous coif, Pt. ii. 130, Pt. iii.

Flail, military, 327. 233; short-sleeved, 131, 239; long-

Foot, knights contend as, Pt. ii. 116. sleeved, 131 ; with fingered gloves,
Foot-troops, Pt. iii. 196, 197, 216; rid- Pt. iii. 234 ; with separate gauntlets,
den down by the knights of their own 234 ; with coudieres, 234.
party, 203. Haubergeon, Pt. ii. 131, Pt. iii. 239.
Fork, military, Pt. i. 57. Helm, flat-topped, 279, 346 ; flat-topped,
Formation of troops, Pt. i. 16, Pt. ii. with moveable ventail, 281; worn over
101, 108, 114, Pt. iii. 217, 223. the mail-coif, 281 ; round-topped, 281;
Forts of wood, 180. of
" 282 of
sugar-loaf" form, ; leather,
Francisca, 45. 282, 368, 369 ; secured by a chain,
Franks, 4, 9, 16, 53. 285 ; with fan-crest, 285 ; with pea-
Fraternitas armorum, 50 note. cock plume, 286 ; with horns, 289 ;

Frieslanders, Pt. iii. 219. crowned, 289 ; of Poitiers, 293.

Helmets, Pt. i. 66, Pt. ii. 138, Pt. iii.

Gamheson, Pt. ii. Ill, 127, Pt. iii. 229, 274; combed, Pt. i. 67, Pt. ii. 140;
239. conical, Pt. i. 67, Pt. ii. 140, Pt. iii.

Gauls, 9. 290; Phrygian, Pt. i. 67, Pt. ii. 140;

Gauntlets of scale-work, 234. round-topped, Pt. i. 67, Pt. ii. 140,
Gaveloches, 219. Pt. iii. 290 ; crested, Pt. i. 68, Pt. ii.

Geldon, 151. 141, 142, Pt. 285; charmed, 68;

iii.

Gerefa, 15. frame, Pt. i. 69, Pt. iii. 291 of bronze, :

Germans, Pt. i. 9, 16, 17, 31. 71 ; of bronze gilt, 71 ; of wood, 71 ;

Gesa, 106. crowned, 72, 289 ; nasal, Pt. i. 72, Pt.

Gibet, 153. ii. 130, 138, Pt. iii. 291 ; wide-rimmed,
Godbertum, 292. Pt. ii. 112, 141, Pt. iii. 290; with
Godendac, 323. cheek-pieces and neck-pieces, 139;
Godwin, Earl, his present to Harde- flat-topped, Pt. ii. 141, Pt. iii. 289;
canute, 12. with heraldic device, 142 ; open-faced,
Gonfanon, Pt. ii. 103, 166. 291.
Graisle, 168. Hood of chain-mail, Pt. iii. 236 ; flat-

Greaves, Pt. iii. 244. topped, 236; 236;

round-topped,
Greek fire, -Ft. i. 89, Pt. ii. 161, Pt. iii.
slipped off the head and resting on
327; Arabic treatise on, 329; dis- the shoulders, 237 ; hood of cloth-like

charged in barrels, 351. material, 237.

Guisarme, Pt. i. 50, Pt. ii. 106, 155, Horns, Pt. ii. 169, Pt. iii. 338.
Pt. iii. 211, 322. Horse, buried in the grave of warrior,
Gula, Laws of, 12. 80, 83 note ; spare in the field of bat-
 INDEX. 383

tie,116; Spanish, Pt. ii. 173, Pt. iii. Mace, Pt. i. 57, Pt. ii. 153, Pt. iii. 321.
339; of William the Conqueror, 173; Machicoulis, 357 note.
with fan-crest, 286; breeds of, 339; Maitre des Arbalestriers de France, 204.
horses of contending knights fight Mallet, 207.

also, 340 ; armed horses come into use Mangona, Pt. i. 88, Pt. ii. 179, Pt. iii.

in England, 344. 348.

Horse furniture, Pt. i. 79, Pt. ii. 169, Mangonella, 179; sea-mangonel, 325,
Pt. iii. 340 ; rich, 80, 340 ; of chain- 352 ; Arabian, 330.
mail, Pt. ii. 169, Pt. iii. 197, 335, 341, Mantle, 133, 137.
343; of cloth, 335; of silk, 336; Manufacture of arms and armour, Pt. ii.

quilted, 341, 343; armoried, 341, 162, Pt. iii. 293, 316, 320.
345, 347. Massue, 324.
Horse troops, Pt. i. 17, Pt. ii. 103, Pt. Mate-Griffon, 176.
iii. 195. Men-at-arms, Pt. ii. 103, Pt. iii. 197.
Hourds, 358 note. Mercenary troops, Pt. i.
99, Pt. ii. 115.

Hungarians, 13. Mines, Pt. ii.

180; defiances in, 181 ;

knightly vigils in, 181.

Huscarlas, 10, 38.
Misericorde, 319.
Monk of St. Gall, his description of the
Icelanders, 11.
armour of Charlemagne, 8.
Irish troops, Part ii. 103.
Monument of victory in the Campagna
Iron Period, 2.
di Roma, 361.
Italy, troops in, Pt. i. 12, Pt. iii. 195,
218. Morning-star, 57, 58.
Musculus, 88.
Musical instruments, Pt. ii. 168, Pt. iii.
Javelin, Part i. 29, Pt. ii. 156, Pt. iii.
338.
325.
Mustilers, 367.
Jazerant armour, Pt. i. 64, Pt. ii. 111.
Joust, 182.
Jousts of Peace, 368. Necromancers, 118.
Normans, Pt. i. 17, Pt. ii. passim.
Knee-pieces, 243.
Knife (see Dagger).
Odo, bishop of Bayeux, his armour and
Knight bachelor, 95.
arms, 113, 131.
banneret, 95.
Omens consulted for military purposes,
Knights, of low degree, 96 ; tied to sad-
17.
dle, 172; effeminate, 188; perform
Oriflamme, Pt. ii. 165, Pt. iii. 333.
every kind of military duty, 222; Otho the Great, ceremonies at his coro-
equipment of in 1298, 292.
nation, 31.

Lance (see Spear).

Legal Duel, 375. Panzar, Part i. 12, Pt. ii. 109.

Pay of knights in the time of King John,

Leg-bands, Part i. 65, Pt. ii. 134.
defences, 134.
213 of knights and others in the reign
;

of Edward!., 214.
Levy, feudal, Pt. i. 95, Pt. ii. 103, Pt.
iii. 195. Pennon, Pt. i. 95, Pt. ii. 103, 167, Pt. iii.

Levy, general, Pt. i. 97. 338.

London pastimes in the twelfth of French King to be borne by
century,
185. the Chief Varlet Tranchant, 334.
384 INDEX.

Petrary, Turkish, 356. Saddle, Part i. 79, 81, Pt. ii. 169, Pt.
Pictavi, 9. iii. 340.

Pigacia, 137. Saddle-cloth, 170 ; armoried, 336, 340.

Pike, Pt. i. 57, Pt. ii. 162. Saintly aid in battle, 117.
Pilete, 207, 342. Saracens, 13.
Plastron-de-fer, 119. Saracenic wall, 357.
Plate-armour introduced, 227. Satellites, 196, 209.

Pluteus, 88. Saxon Chronicle, 11, 14, 76.

Poisoned weapons, Pt. i. 40, 54, 59. Scale armour, Pt. i. 65, Pt. ii. 132, 133,
Poitrail, Pt. ii. 171, Pt. iii. 341. Pt. iii. 234, 255.
Pole-axe, Pt. i. 45, 48, Pt. iii. 322. Scandinavians, Pt. i. 12, Pt. ii. 109.

Poleyns, 242, 243. Scottish troops, Pt. ii. 106, Pt. iii. 217.
Porchester Castle, xii., 189. Scramasaxi, 60.
Posse Comitatus, 10, 97 (and see Statutes Scutage, 99.
of Arms). Sea-fights, 362 ; sea-mangonels, 325, 352.
Pourpoint, 210, 239. Seals, their use in the study of ancient
Pourpointers of Paris in the thirteenth costume, 93 ; various modes of ex-

century, 239. pressing armour upon them, 122.

Prayer-book of Charles the Bald, 57. Seal of William the Conqueror, 92, 142;

Procopius, 4. of William Rufus, 102, 123; of

Prussians, 112. Henry I., 119; of Alexander I., king

of Scotland, 106; of King Stephen,

Quarrels or bolts of cross-bows, Pt. ii. 122, 126, 145; of Henry II., 151, 170J
of Conan, duke of Britanny, 140 of
159, Pt. iii. 204, 326. ;

d'airain," 327.
Richard Cceur-de-Lion, 123, 140, 141,
"empennes
Quintain, water, Pt. ii. 186; various 142, 146; of King John, 228, 289,
290 of Saer de Quinci, 345 of Alex-
kinds of, 187; on Offham Green, Kent, ; ;

187; at London in 1252, 374. ander II. of Scotland, 147, 340; of

King Henry III., 298, 308 of Roger

Quiretta, 368. ;

de Quinci, 345 of Hugo de Vere, 345

Quiver, Pt. i. 55, Pt. ii. 102, 158, Pt. iii. ; ;

325. of King Edward I., 339, 345; of

Robert Fitz Walter, 336, 340.
Seals figured of William I., 92
:
; of
Races, migrations of, 1.
William II., 102; of Henry I., 119;
Relics, Saintly, in request for warlike
of Alexander I. of Scotland, 107; of
purposes, 17.
Stephen, 122,144; of Henry II., 151,
Ribauds, Pt. iii. 196, 206, 228; Roi des
170 ; of Conan, duke of Britanny, 140 ;
Ribauds, 208.
of Richard I., frontispiece ; of John,
Richard Coeur-de-Lion an archer, 157.
228; of Henry III., 299, 307; of
Roi des Herauts, 367.
Roger de Quinci, 346 ; of Edward I.,
Roman influences, 7, 88, 89.
339.
Round-table Game, 306, 370; at Wal-
Seax, 34, 35.
lenden, 371; at Kenilworth, 372;
Sergens-d'armes, Pt. ii. 100, Pt. iii. 196,
Round Table of King Arthur at Win-
198.
chester, 372.
de pied, 196, 197.
Rutarii, 99.
Shields, Pt. i. 72, Pt. ii. 143, Pt. iii.

293; bosses of, Pt. i. 72, 78, Pt. ii.

Sabre, curved, Pt. iii. 314. 143, 144, Pt. iii. 295; handle, 72;
 INDEX. 385

reinforced with iron strips, 74; of Soket, 306.

Anglo-Saxon period, usually of lime- Song, war, 20.

wood, 74 ; partly of leather, 76 ; rim Soudoyers, 208.
of metal, 76, 111; round, Pt. i. 72, Sow, an engine for sieges, 174.

Pt. ii. Ill, 143, 145, Pt. iii. 294, 318; Spears, Pt. i. 21, Pt. ii. 150, Pt. iii. 301.

oval, 76 ; painted and gilt, 76, 146 ; figured, Pt. i. 22, 23, 64, 65, 66,
carried at back, 77, 146; large, 77; 67, 77, 90, Pt. ii. 92, 102, 107, 119,
bronze coatings of, 78 ; Danish, 78 ; 122, 127, 129, 133, 135, 136, 137, Pt.
79, Pt. 146, Pt. iii. 237, 243, 244, 250, 254, 303.
guige, Pt. i. ii. iii.

295 ; position in the graves, 79 ; kite- Spear, shaft of, 27, 150; shoe of, 29;
shaped, Pt. ii. 143, Pt. iii. 294; tri- represented on knightly tomb, 305,
angular, Pt. ii. 143, Pt. iii. 294; 318; for hastiludes, 306.
enarmes, 145, 295; heraldic, Pt. ii. Spies, 209.
146, Pt. iii. 296; rich, 78,147; used Spingarda, 353.
for bier of slain knight, 147 ; heart- Spingardella, 353.
shaped, Pt. iii. 294 ; pear-shaped, 294 ; Spurs, Pt. i. 81, Pt. ii. 171, Pt. iii. 298 ;

quadrangular, 295; rounded below, on left heel only, 82 ; rowelled, 298 ;

295; materials of, in thirteenth cen- enriched, 300; suspended in churches

"
tury, 295 ; with pattern" ornaments, as trophies, 300.

297; slung at hip, 297; hung on Standards, Pt. i. 84, Pt. ii. 163, Pt. iii.

room 297 ; hung up in churches

walls, 331; Danish, 84; Anglo-Saxon, 85;
as memorials of distinguished knights, Dragon, 85, 164, 331 , or Carrocium,
297 ; carved on knightly tomb, 318. Pt. i. 86, Pt. ii. 107, 165, Pt. iii. 331 ;
Shields figured :
frontispiece, Part i. 60, of William the Conqueror, 163; of
64, 65, 67, 77, Pt. ii. 92, 102, 119, 122, the emperor Otho, 164; of Philip
127, 129, 135, 136, 140, 144, 151, 170, Augustus, 302, 334; French Koyal
Pt. iii. 228, 230, 232, 237, 243, 244, Standard, 334.
250, 275, 283, 285, 287, 296, 299, Standard, battle of the, 107.
303, 313, 339, 346. Stanford Bridge, battle of, 20.
Ships, Pt. i. 11, 90, Pt. ii. 110, 147, 173, Statute-of-Arms of William of Scotland,
178, Pt. iii. 362. 50; of Henry II. in 1181, 97; of
Sica, 35. Frejus in 1233, 230, 241 ; of Henry
Sidonius Apollinaris, 4, 34. III. in 1252, 210; of Winchester in

Siege of Paris in 886, 88 ; of Jerusalem 1285, 199, 210 ; of Edward I. in 1298,

in 1099, 173; of Crema in 1160, 176, 344.
181; of Ancona in 1174, 177; of Steallera, 11.
Messina in 1190, 178; of Acre, in Steel, hardening of in the eleventh and
1191, 180; of Bedford castle in 1224, twelfth centuries, 163.
360; of Carcassone in 1240, 355; of Stone-hammer, 57, 58.
the Castle of Capaccio in 1246, 350. Stone Period, 1.
Sigeward, duke of Northumberland, his Stones used as weapons, 162.
death, 66. Stratagems, 116, 225.
Skating tilt, 187. Studded armour, 134, 243, 255; of

Sling, Pt. i. 57, 58, Pt. ii. 156, Pt. iii. several kinds, 256.
204, 327 ; sling-stones, 59 ; staff-sling, Sudis, 155.
206, 327. Surcoat, military, Pt. ii. Ill, 126, Pt.
Slings figured, Pt. i. 59, Pt. ii. 135, Pt. iii. 271 ; its use, 271 ; short and long
iii. 205, 206. worn throughout the thirteenth cen-
C C
386 INDEX.

tury, 272 ; armoried, 272 ; its pur- Time of military service, 9, 96.

pose, 273 ; powdered with escutcheons, Tournament, Pt. ii. 182, Pt. iii. 362;
273; sleeved, 274; of Sindon silk, near St.Edmundsbury,183; restricted
369; of Carda, 369. to five localities in England, 184; in

Swords, Pt. i. 31, Pt. ii. 151, Pt. iii. France under Philippe Auguste, 184 ;
307; 309; of Charlemagne,
rich, 37, armour not different from that worn

38; inscribed, 39 ; inlaid, 40; named, in battle, 185 ; writers on the subject,
40, 152 ; poisoned, 40 ; bent, found in 185 note; forbidden, 211, 364; tu-
graves, 42 ; of William the Conqueror, multuous at Rochester in 1251, 363 ;
152; manner of furbishing, 153 ; Hun- of Chalons in 1274, 363; Statute,
garian, 163; worn at the right side, circa 1295, 366; of Windsor Park,
311 ; of King Henry III., 311 ; Ger- 366, 368.
man and French in the thirteenth
Tourney, 182.
century, 311; curved sabre, 314; Tours, for bending cross-bows, 353.
stabbing, 314; of Cologne, 316; Towers, Moveable, employed in sieges,
sword and buckler fight, 316 ; sword Pt. i. 89, Pt. ii. 173, 174, Pt. iii. 354,
carved on knightly tomb, 317, 318; 361.
made of whalebone, 368, 370. Trebuchet, four kinds of in the thir-
Swords figured :
frontispiece, Pt. i. 32, teenth century, 349 ; named, 351 ;
33, 60, 67, Pt. ii. 130, 132, 135, 136, reproduced at Vincennes in 1850,
140, 144, 151, 170, Pt. iii. 192, 199, 351 ; projectiles of, 351.
228, 230, 237, 238, 243, 247, 254, Trialemellum, 324.
257, 261, 268, 275, 283, 285, 287, Tribulus,200 (and see Caltrop).
296, 299, 303, 313, 339, 346. Tripantum, 349.
Sword-belts, 44, 152, 309. Trumpet, 169, 338.
cross-piece, 34, 151, 308. Trumulieres, 292. .

handle, 35, 308. Tunic, 111, 126, 229.

sheath, 42, 309 ; worn beneath
hauberk, 130.
Uniform costume not in vogue, 228;
Tacitus, 7, 11, 16, 88. but adopted on particular occasions,
Tactics, Pt. i. 16, Pt. ii. 108, 114, Pt. 229.
iii. 222. Urns, funereal, containing weapons, 30,
Taper-axe, 45, 47. 42.

Tartars, 172.
Tela nodosa, 106.
Varlets, 196.
Tents, 362.
Vegecius, 30.
Tenures by various military services : at
Vinea, Pt. ii. 173, 174, 178, Pt. iii.

Riddesdale, Northumberland, 152 ; at

354.
Faintree, 200; at Chetton,
Salop,
Vireton, 160.
Salop, 201
by Castle-guard, at Ports-
;
Vomerulus, 306.
mouth, 239; at Sockburn, Durham,
313 ; at Plumpton, Warwickshire,
321; at Baynard's Castle, London, Wace, the particular value of his chroni-
334. cle to the student of ancient usages,

Terebra, 89. 94.

Testarse, 348. Wager of battle, 375.

Testudo, 88. Warns, Wambasium (see Gambeson).
 INDEX. 387

War-cries, Pt. i. 20, Ft. ii. 117. Weapon-smiths, 31, 41, 42.
Watch : armed Town-watch, temp. Weland, 41.
Hen. III., 215 ; Watch of Paris under Welsh troops, Pt. ii. 104, Pt. iii. 218.
St. Louis, 216. William the Conqueror, his armour, 92,

Weapons, Pt. i. 21, Pt. ii. 150, Pt. iii. 131 ; his horse, 173.

301 ; of peasants, 161, 315. Wire-drawing, when invented, 227.

PRINTED BY MESSRS. PARKER, CORN-MARKET, OXFORD.

 RETURN TO the circulation desk of any
University of California Library
or to the
NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station
University of California
Richmond, CA 94804-4698

ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS

2-month loans may be renewed by calling
(510)642-6753
1
-year loans may be recharged by bringing
books to NRLF
Renewals and recharges may be made 4
days prior to due date.

DUE AS STAMPED BELOW

'JAN 1 WQl

12,000(11/95)

I
 M-UOUO

8000